Taking Flight
by MidnightBlack227
Summary: Hinata Shōyō believes he will never fly with his tiny, crumpled wings. But then he sees Kageyama's beautiful black wings. Are those alone enough to inspire Hinata, along with the help of Tsuki and Kageyama himself, to get his feet off the ground and take to the skies? (Wings AU)
1. Chapter 1 - Moonlight

Hinata Shoyo turned over in his bed, for what seemed like the thousandth time.

 _Just another sleepless night for me._

He turned over, again, running his small hands along his feathery black wings.

My wings.

They were beautiful, in Hinata's opinion. Having crow's wings in this day and age was considered relatively rare. Even his family had regular swallow's wings. But Hinata's wings were small. Really small. They were the size of his five-year old sister's little, baby swallow wings, but Hinata was 15, turning 16 soon. Hinata was bullied at school for his wings, everyone bragging about their glorious, glossy wings, calling Hinata Tiny Wings. It wasn't a very creative name, but it still hurt Hinata.

He had almost no friends, relying on the presence of scattered-minded Tsukishima, who had hummingbird's wings, always flitting about, worrying about every little thing. But Tuski didn't care about Hinata's small wings. He saw through that. Tsuki was kind and sought out Hinata's good traits, such as his great cooking skills, or Hinata's great smile.

Hinata sighed, looking out the window. The moon was full, throwing a pale light over the town.

 _All I want is to be special._

Like Yamaguchi, Tsuki's best friend, who had beautiful, extremely rare bird-of-paradise wings; wings of the astrapia. They were wonderful. Then there was Daichi, who had the largest wings Hinata had ever seen. Daichi even had to fold his wings to stand in the locker room properly, without smashing anyone in the face.

Hinata stepped out of bed. On restless nights like these, he would climb to the roof, where he could be alone. Being careful not to wake his sister, who slept in a bed across from him, he crept out of their room and out to the balcony, where he climbed up the grapevine trellis to the roof.

He couldn't fly. Most people could fly at about age 8 when their wings are almost fully grown, but since Hinata had the wings of a five-year old, he wasn't anywhere close. Hinata's heart and wings would ache whenever he saw Daichi and his friend Sugawara flying to school together every day, through the sky, holding hands and their matching messenger bags.

He glanced in the mirror that hung on the left wall of the room. His short ginger hair was messy, as usual, and his small build made him look like a shadow in the dim light. Hinata's Karasuno High shirt was a few sizes too big and hung loosely around him. All ones who had wings had hollow, lightweight bones, to make flying possible, but Hinata's were especially light and broke easily. Like the time Daichi had spread his wings and knocked over Hinata, sending him flying down the stairs. He broke his arm. Daichi probably would never forgive himself for that.

Hinata perched on the edge of the roof, looking out into the moonlight. The roof tiles were warm beneath his feet, even though it was late January; usually, it was cold and windy.

 _I must be the only person in the town who is awake right now._

Hinata shifted his gaze a few blocks down and saw the big, black house where a Dragonwing was rumored to live. Dragons were so rare; Hinata had never seen one. Their wings could only be passed down through the family, which lead to the Dragons either giving up entirely or having lots of children. Apparently, this dragon had given up.

Hinata stared at the house.

It must be wonderful to have wings that can actually fly.

Hinata's mother would always tell him, Don't worry about your wings. Where your mind leads you is more important.

Hinata blinked.

Did he see another silhouette, outlined by the moonlight?

He did. A few houses to his left, someone else was sitting on the roof, the same way as small-winged Hinata. But that person's wings were huge. Even folded up to sit, they were big. The person stood up, and the moonlight shifted ever so slightly, revealing large, flared crow's wings, just like Hinata's.

Hinata gasped. _Who is that?_

The person stretched, their wings expanding out upwards, giving him the antagonizing view of these perfect wings that Hinata dreamed every day of having.

The moonlight shifted again, showing Hinata the person's face.

He drew in a sharp breath. It was Kageyama, who went to his school, in the grade above him. Hinata had never seen Kageyama, but he knew his name.

Hinata stared. Kageyama's dark blue eyes turned towards Hinata and they locked eyes. He couldn't breathe. Hinata just stared, and stared at Kageyama, at his wonderful wings, at the shade of black they were, how the moonlight reflected off of them. Kageyama narrowed his eyes, and Hinata looked away. It was too painful. He backed up a bit, as to apologize for staring. But Hinata forgot that the roof ended there.

Hinata fell. It wasn't a long fall, and Hinata tumbled into the rose bushes that his father had worked hard to plant the last spring. The thorns scraped at his bare legs and arms. Hinata pulled himself out of the bushes, rubbing his scraped limbs. But he didn't care.

He had just seen the most beautiful wings in the world, even prettier than Daichi's or Yamaguchi's.

And he wanted to see them again.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Kageyama had just made someone fall off a roof. He felt bad. Really bad. Judging by the size of those wings, the person had only been a five-year-old child. But Kageyama would never forget the way those brown-gold eyes stared at him, at his wings. The stare had chilled him to the bone, even though nothing usually did that to him. It also made him feel… strange. Kageyama had never felt that feeling before.

Kageyama sighed. He had the habit of curling his wings around him in a protective cage when he felt threatened or scared. He drew his wings in closer to him, burying his face in the soft black feathers.

 _I wonder if the person is okay?_

Maybe he would go over to that house tomorrow and ask the person who answered if their child was OK.

Maybe he wouldn't. Many people mistaken Kageyama's quiet, reserved, calmness, as crippling shyness. But Kageyama wasn't shy…

He just had secrets.

Kageyama spread his wings, flying down from the roof. He landed with a small thud.

He crept through the back door that led to his basement bedroom, being careful not to wake anyone.

Kageyama pushed open his door, jumping at the soft creak it gave. His room was small, with a desk on the right, bed against the far wall, and closet on the left. It took him barely three steps to reach his bed at the end of the room, and Kageyama could walk from desk to closet in seven.

He pulled back the soft covers and slid into them, sighing. Every single night since he was ten, he would climb to the roof and look out at the sky. Usually, Kageyama would hide behind the chimney, but tonight had been different. He had felt more confident like he wanted to impress someone by sitting on the edge. Then he made a small child fall off a roof.

 _I think I'll stay behind the chimney from now on._

Kageyama turned onto his side, facing the beige wall. He tucked his wings around him, brushed his soft black hair out of his eyes, and fell asleep.

 **IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

Hinata grabbed the milk from the fridge and poured it into his bowl of cereal. It was a Saturday morning, so he didn't have school. Right now, Tsuki would be knocking on his door, ready to take Hinata to Karasuno, the local high school. Hinata's parents had to work, so they left pretty early in the morning. He was home alone, besides his sister who he was in charge of taking care of. She was asleep upstairs right now.

He set the bowl down on the rectangular table in the center of the kitchen and grabbed a spoon from a nearby drawer.

Hinata's phone buzzed. Daichi was messaging him. He opened his phone in curiosity.

 _Hey,_ the message read. _Do you wanna go to the Nationals on Friday? We don't have school. Suga and Tsuki are coming. You can bring your sister and stuff if you want._

The Nationals. The famed Nationals. The Nationals were a series of competitions and exhibitions of flying stunts and acts from people 16 and up. Hinata had never gone, but he had watched it on television every year.

Karasuno did have a team for the Nationals, but they had never placed very well. Yamaguchi's sister, Mei-Lee, was on the team, but mainly performed duo and solo acts. She was one of the best on the team.

Hinata scooped cereal into his mouth excitedly. The Nationals were hosted in different cities around the country each year, but this year, they were coming here. He could see the stadium from the house, and it was huge. It looked like your average sports stadium, but what was special about it was that it was open air, with suspended platforms around it for competitors to perch on before flying.

He couldn't wait until Friday. It had been declared an official day off for Karasuno, because of the Nationals.

There was a knock on the door. Hinata jumped up from the stool he was sitting on, almost smashing his wings into the kitchen cabinets.

 _Who would come over at nine in the morning? I'm not even wearing pants!_

Hinata hid around the corner of the door, hiding his wings (and legs) from sight. It was a habit he had when opening the door for people, so they wouldn't see his tiny wings. He gingerly swung open the door, then peered outside.

It was Kageyama. Hinata drew in a sharp breath. Kageyama was dressed in black jeans and a blue shirt, black hair falling in the middle of his forehead. He held a small brown leather bag.

"Um... Hello?" Kageyama began.

Hinata blinked. "Can I help you?"

"Yes actually," Kageyama said. "Do you have a younger sibling?"

"What?"

Kageyama shifted from foot to foot. "Um... this may sound weird, but I think they fell off the roof last night. I saw. Are they okay?"

Hinata's heart pounded. _That was me! He doesn't know it was me!_

"Well," Hinata sighed. "I do have a younger sister, but she didn't fall off the roof. That was me."

Kageyama took a step back, shaking his head. "No, their wings were small. It wasn't you. What are you? Fourteen? Fifteen?"

Hinata stepped out from his hiding place, spreading his wings to their full extent, a mere four feet. Your wings, (if you were a CrowWing) were supposed to be about 6 and a half feet at Hinata's age.

Kageyama gasped. "You... It really was you..."

"I guess..." Hinta still couldn't stop staring at Kageyama's wings.

"Well, are you okay?" Kageyama asked. "You fell off the roof! I'm so sorry... Like, really sorry. You're okay, right?"

"No, I'm fine. Do you want to come in and talk more?" Hinata offered. His mother said it was a good idea to invite people inside when they appeared at your doorstep.

Kageyama tucked his wings in, stepping through the doorway. "Sure."

Hinata glanced down at his baggy Karasuno pajamas, turning to go upstairs. "In that case, have a seat in the kitchen and I'll be back. I need to change."

Hinata ran back down the stairs, stunned by the turn of events.

 _Why did Kageyama come over? Why did I even invite him in? And why am I so nervous?_

He turned the corner into the kitchen, where Kageyama sat, looking at the brochure for the Nationals.

"Hey, Kageyama." Hinata sat next to him.

Kageyama looked up. "How do you know my name? I don't even know yours!"

"You go to Karasuno, right?" Hinata explained. "So do I. You're in the same grade as my friend Tsukishima's sister, Mei-Lee?"

"Yeah, I know a Mei." Kageyama nodded. "And you are?"

"Hinata. Hinata Shoyo." He stood up. "Do you want something to eat?"

"Yes, I'll take a tea. And I'm Kageyama, Kageyama Tobio."

Hinata walked over to the hot water boiler, and their wings brushed. He drew them in reflexively, but Hinata liked the feeling of those big, black wings touching his small ones. He poured two cups of tea, one for him and one for Kageyama, setting them down on the table.

Kageyama placed his hands around the red cup, looking up at Hinata. "Thanks."

Hinata sat back down, and there was an awkward silence.

"So tell me Hinata," Kageyama broke it. "Why were you on the roof that night?"

Hinata looked at him with his warm golden eyes. "I couldn't sleep. Every time that happens, I climb up there. You?"

"I really don't know. The first time I did that, I was ten, and now I do that every night because I can. It's just so peaceful, feeling like you're the only one in the town awake." Kageyama started wistfully out the round window. Hinata had melted his icy exterior.

"But you weren't. And I thought I was, too. All I wanted was to be special." Hinata moved a little closer to Kageyama.

Kageyama looked down at him. "But you are special. Everyone is special in their own way."

"Not me," Hinata said. "I can't even fly."

Kageyama jumped up. "Yes, you can. You can fly."

"No, I can't." Hinata placed his orange cup of tea on the table, standing across from Kageyama, looking up into his dark eyes.

"As I said, you can. Spread your wings, Hinata." Hinata flared his wings, staring at Kageyama, wondering what he was going to do.

Kageyama stood behind Hinata and ran his hands along Hinata's wings. Hinata shuddered.

"That tickles!"

Kageyama inspected the feathers at the end of Hinata's wings, then force-folded one just to see how everything came together. He stepped back.

"You can fly, Hinata. You have the strength, and the feathers are all fully developed. I don't think size will matter in this case. And, you're super light." Kageyama reached under Hinata's wings and lifted him up, Hinata squirming and telling Kageyama to put him down.

"Put me down, Kageyama!" Hinata tried to be annoyed, but he was so excited by the news that he could actually fly that didn't care.

Kageyama plopped Hinata back into the stool and sat down. "Anyways, yes, you can fly. You just have to try."

"What do you want me to do?" Hinata asked. "Jump off the roof?"

Kageyama shrugged. "I guess."

"Kageyama! I was kidding!" Hinata glared at Kageyama.

"Yeah," Kageyama said. "But it still might be a good idea. Your instincts will kick in, and you'll be flying!"

Hinata glanced at Kageyama, a long glance that made both of them feel really... weird. "Last time I fell off the roof, I didn't fly."

"Yeah, but this time you know you can actually fly. You didn't believe you could until I told you." Kageyama picked up his cup of tea.

Hinata's eyes grew wide. "Wait! No! That's my tea!"

Kageyama slammed the cup down on the table, but it was too late. Natsu, Hinata's younger sister came thundering down the stairs.

"Indirect kiss!" She yelled gleefully, her ginger hair bouncing up and down.

Hinata and Kageyama glared at Natsu, who grinned innocently at the duo. Hinata picked up her, and placed her on the other stool, her little swallow wings trembling in excitement.

"Who is that?" Natsu asked, sticking a small finger out at Kageyama.

Hinata looked up at him. "That's Kageyama. Can you say hi to Kageyama-kun, Natsu?"

"Hello, Yama-kun!" She waved ecstatically, almost knocking Hinata's tea over.

Kageyama smiled at Hinata and Natsu.

"Is Yama-kun your friend, Hinata?" Natsu peered inside the tea cup, swirling the leaves around.

Hinata looked at Kageyama. He nodded. "Sort of...I guess you could say that..."

Natsu looked up at Hinata, her golden eyes shining with happiness. "What do you mean, sort of?" Her eyes grew wide. "You mean he's your boyfriend? You didn't tell mommy you had a boyfriend, Hinata!"

Kageyama's cheeks reddened. So did Hinata's. "I'm not Kageyama's boyfriend, Natsu."

Another awkward silence.

Kageyama stood up, clearing his throat. "I guess I should go, Hinata."

Hinata nodded slowly. "Okay... I'll see you at school on Monday?"

"Monday it is." Kageyama turned out the door, closing it firmly behind him.

Hinata watched Kageyama walk down the street, then picked up the now-cold tea, pouring it down the sink.

"Natsu, how about you go get dressed. Maybe we can go to the park today!" Natsu nodded obediently and ran back upstairs.

Hinata sighed and leaned against the counter. Natsu could be a handful. He glanced at the floor. Kageyama had left his bag.

"Kageyama, you left your bag-" He began, before remembering that Kageyama had left a few minutes ago.

Hinata set the brown bag down on the counter. It landed with a heavy clunk.

 _What?_

Overcome by curiosity, Hinata unzipped it and looked inside. It wasn't very intersting. the bag held a few books, a water bottle (that was what had made the thunk) and a notebook with a pen clipped onto it.

Hinata had a sudden urge and grabbed the pen and the notebook. Turning to the front page, Hinata wrote down his phone number, e-mail, and drew a quick picture of himself, just so Kageyama would know it was him. Then he closed it, shoving everything back in the bag.

 _I'll give the bag back on Monday, I guess._

 _I can't wait for Monday._


	2. Chapter 2 - Karasuno

Hinata slammed his hand down onto the alarm clock on his nightstand, knocking it off the small wooden table. Somehow, the stupid clock kept beeping. He groaned, dragged himself out of bed, reached under the table, and finally shut the alarm off. Natsu sat up, looking at Hinata.

"Watcha doing, Hinata?" She jumped out of bed, full of energy.

Hinata looked up, narrowly missing smacking his head on the table. "Oh, hey Natsu."

He stood up and walked over to the closet, pulling out his Karasuno uniform. Hinata also handed Natsu her uniform. Natsu wasn't old enough to go to Karasuno, obviously. She attended the education center further up the road.

Shirts were a strange business when you had wings. The front looked normal, but at the back, about 3 inches down from the neck, was a large empty oval, where your wings would slide through. Lower down from the oval was a zipper, just in case you got stuck. Natsu got stuck a lot.

Hinata, now in uniform, shoved his school work hastily into his bag, along with a few pens and pencils. He dashed down the stairs, telling Natsu to hurry up.

"Can I have chocolate for breakfast, Hinata?" Natsu thudded down the stairs.

Hinata poured two bowls of cereal and set them down on the counter. "No, Natsu. No chocolate." He picked up Kageyama's bag and set it beside his.

"Please?" Natsu looked up at Hinata with her round eyes. "I really, really, really, want chocolate. Daichi-san gave me chocolate!"

Hinata looked up from shoving food into his mouth. "He what?"

She grabbed her bowl of food and sat down on the floor, even though there was a perfectly good stool right next to Natsu. "Daichi gave me chocolate after breakfast when you were away in Tokyo for exams! He said it was for being good. I've been good recently!"

"Ok, but I'm not Daichi. Hurry up, Natsu, we're going to be late!"

Natsu slurped up the extra milk left over in her bowl, then dumped it in the sink. "You hurry up, Hinata. You're making me late!"

"Fine, fine. Get your lunch from the fridge. I made you a sandwich last night."

Hinata finished his cereal and pulled out Natsu's baby-blue lunch bag. He passed it to her, and she clutched it in her small hands. Hinata grabbed his lunch, his bag, and Natsu, and together they ran out the door.

The sky was alive, today. People zoomed about, going off to work, school, or wherever. Natsu pointed up at Daichi and Sugawara, yelling. Hinata craned his neck upward, hoping to see Kageyama.

Instead, he saw Yamaguchi and Mei. Yamaguchi waved, his messy brown hair wind-blown. He glided down towards them, landing perfectly, wings folding in. Mei landed next to him, running over to hug Natsu. Mei sometimes volunteered at the education center, so she was a familiar face to Natsu.

Yamaguchi spoke. "Want a ride, Hinata? Natsu?"

"Sure, if you could." Hinata nodded politely.

Mei picked up Natsu, and she squealed in delight, wings fluttering in excitement. Hinata grabbed Yamaguchi's hands, and they took off together. He was light, and despite Yamaguchi's small physique, he had no problem carrying Hinata. The view was amazing, and Hinata pretended he was flying himself. His tiny wings rippled in satisfaction, feeling the cool air on the black feathers. Mei flew alongside them, her red-streaked hair flying out behind her. Natsu giggled with happiness, kicking her small legs.

They soared over Karasuno, and Yamaguchi began his descent. Hinata saw all of the other students coming in for a landing, too.

"Hey, Tsuki!" Hinata called. Tsukishima looked up, waving.

Yamaguchi set Hinata down, and Mei flew off to take Natsu to the center. They walked through the doors together, Yamaguchi making sure to keep his wings to himself. The halls were a blur of colors. Spotted, dappled, streaked, plain, you name it. Every pair of wings stood out in their own way.

Hinata gulped, trying to shrink into the crowd, hoping no one would notice him. He didn't want to be called out with Tiny Wings today.

Now, he thought, Where's Kageyama?

Hinata struggled to keep his eyes open during English class. The teacher was so boring. He sat up in his chair, glancing around the classroom. Tsuki wasn't in his class, as he was in more advanced classes, being Tsuki and all. Yamaguchi was trying to be perky and attentive, but with his wings sprawled over the wing rests on the sides of the chair, he looked more like he was trying to pose for a fashion magazine.

A pencil poked him in the side, and Hinata sat up suddenly, scraping his wings on the back of the chair.

"Oi, Shoyo." It was Takito, a kingfisher-winged girl. "Pay attention. We have a project."

Takito and Hinata had hung out a lot in elementary school, but after the Tiny Wings business, they had grown distant. They had tried to rekindle their relationship, but Takito was always busy, and Hinata always forgot about her.

"Alright, listen up," The teacher explained. "You have an essay project due in two weeks."

Everyone groaned.

"Since this is a bigger project, you will be working in a group of three..." The teacher continued.

A mixed reaction. Some people groaned, some cheered, and started talking about partners and groups. Hinata was happy. He shot a quick glance at Yamaguchi, who sat a few seats away from him. Yamaguchi held up his crossed fingers. He never liked working alone, preferring a team to get the job done.

And it wasn't because he was lazy. Hinata just liked working as a group.

"Ok, enough talking, everyone. I'll be picking your groups. Listen up."

The teacher began to list names, but Hinata was busy reading the guidelines for the essay.

"Alright. Our third group is Hinata," Hinata sat up, dropping his paper on the floor. The teacher glared at him for causing a disturbance.

"As I was saying, Hinata, Yamaguchi, and Takito." Hinata grinned at Yamaguchi, who smiled back.

"Ok, that's all. Class dismissed." Everyone rushed out of the class, crowding around the door to get out quickly. It was lunchtime, now.

Hinata ran over to Yamaguchi with Takito. Yamaguchi handed Takito the project sheet. She cursed under her breath.

"It's about politics," Takito announced.

Yamaguchi threw his hands up in the air. "Great. Just great. I love politics so much."

"Come on guys," Hinata tried to cheer the disappointed duo up. "It could have been worse."

"Anyways, Hinata. Let's go eat lunch." Yamaguchi turned out the door, Takito following close behind.

Hinata didn't follow, instead turned left down the hallway, trying to find Kageyama. He ran down multiple hallways, twisting and turning deeper into the school. The corridors were by now fully deserted.

A noise to his left startled him.

"I knew I'd find you here." It was Kichimiri, Karasuno's resident bully. He was tall and strong, with large eagle wings and a menacing stare. Everyone knew to stay out of his way, even the third-years.

Hinata turned, wings bristling. "What do you want, Miri?"

Kichimiri faced Hinata, his shadow falling on Hinata's face. "I think you know exactly what I want, Tiny Wings."

Hinata took a step back. "Get away from me."

"You ordering me around, punk?" Miri clenched his fists and jaw, glaring at Hinata.

Hinata took another step back, pressing himself against the lockers. The metal was cold against his face. "I... Just go away!" He curled his wings around his face.

"I'm not gonna leave you alone, Tiny Wings. Give it to me now." Miri kicked Hinata in the stomach, and Hinata crumpled to the floor.

Another voice entered the room. "Get away from him."

It was Kageyama. Hinata looked up from the floor, gasping for breath. Kageyama's wings snapped open, almost matching Kichimiri's huge wingspan. His eyes were cold and dark, unlike the warm indigo Hinata had stared into yesterday.

"Says who, Crow-face?" Kichimiri turned on Kageyama but kept his distance.

"Says me. And you're going to get away from him, now." His voice was deadly calm.

Kichimiri shrugged. "Fine, whatever you say, Tobio. But sleep with one eye open." He stalked off. Kageyama ran over to Hinata, who was now sitting up.

"Hey... You okay?" He helped Hinata up.

Hinata smiled up at Kageyama. "Yeah. Thanks for saving me."

"No big deal," Kageyama shrugged, wings folding back in. "You want to eat lunch together?"

Hinata's heart and wings skipped at the thought. "Sure. And you forgot your bag at my house."

"I know." Kageyama stood up, gesturing for Hinata to stand, too.

Hinata ran down the hall to his locker. "It's in here." He handed Kageyama the brown bag.

They walked off to the lunch room together.

Hinata lay on his bed, trying to read the manuscript his teacher had given him, but he couldn't concentrate.

The rest of the day had happened in a daze. After Kageyama saving him, they had eaten lunch together, outside. The lunch room was full, so Kageyama had shown Hinata his "secret spot", really just a small alcove in the school gardens. They talked about school, life, food, and so many things. And Hinata would have paid to do it again...

His phone buzzed. Someone was texting him.

He picked up his phone checking to see who it was. It was probably Daichi or Tsuki. Maybe Yamaguchi, Kenma, or Takito.

But it was Kageyama. Hinata dropped his phone onto the bed.

 _Kageyama saw my note in his book!_

 _Is this Hinata?_ The text read.

With his hands shaking, Hinata typed back. _That's me._

 _I knew I recognized that drawing._

Hinata smiled. _Thanks._

 _Anyways,_ Kageyama replied. _Have you tried jumping off the roof yet?_

 _No way. I'm kinda scared._

 _Well, you should. You really need to learn how to fly._

 _My mom would kill me. Then Natsu would want to try, and then what would I do?_

 _So don't let her see you. Do it at night or something._

Hinata decided to change the subject.

 _Ok, enough about me jumping off roofs. How's your life?_

 _My life is fine. Besides the fact that I always burn rice when I try to make it._

Hinata laughed. _W_ hat?

 _It's true. I try to cook once it a while, but it never works._

 _The trick is to soak the rice in water for a few hours before you make it. Then cook it for a little less than you would, and leave it to sit before serving._

There was a pause.

 _And how would you know this, Hinata?_

 _I cook, a lot. It's fun._

 _Okay, cool. I'll take note of your rice-stuff._

Hinata had an idea.

 _Hey, Kageyama. Do you wanna come to the nationals with Daichi and I on Friday?_

 _Sorry, I can't._

Hinata almost moaned in despair.

 _WHY?_

There was a long pause, and Hinata got really impatient.

 _I'm in the nationals._

Hinata dropped his phone off the bed, again.

 _Are you? I didn't know that!_ Hinata typed quickly.

 _I am. I'm on the school team, with Mei._

 _What do you perform?_

 _Mainly just solo and duo acts. No group flying for me. Also, I do Dives._

Hinata gasped. Dives were arguably the most dangerous competition in the nationals. You stood on a very high platform, jumped off, and at the very last second, flared your wings and pulled out. You were judged on how close you got to the ground. Many people had died while doing this event.

 _Aren't you nervous?_ Hinata asked.

 _Not really. It feels natural to do all these tricks and stuff. Hey, maybe after my events I can come see you and we can watch the older groups perform!_

 _That sounds great!_

Hinata heard Natsu drop something downstairs.

"Hinata! Assistance!"

 _I have to go,_ Hinata told Kageyama. _I'll see you soon._

He threw his phone down and sped down the stairs.

"Natsu! What did you do, now!"

Natsu was standing on the counter, wings spread wide.

"I... um... dropped the bowl."

Hinata looked over the counter. She had dropped a small plastic bowl, nothing to worry about.

"It's fine, Natsu."

"No, it's not." Natsu often got concerned about small, little things in life, and Hinata would have to explain to her that it was okay.

"Yes, it is." He bent down and picked up the bowl. "See? It's fine."

Natsu took the bowl from Hinata, turning it over in her hands. She slid off the counter. "It's not fine. It's chipped here, here, here and here."

He sighed. "Look, Natsu. You can't let the little things in life bother you. They're not important." Hinata set the bowl down on the counter.

"The little things are important," Natsu announced defiantly.

Hinata blinked. Those were brave words coming from Natsu. He twitched his wings and crouched down, looking at her.

"Tell me why the little things are important, Natsu."

Natsu placed her little hands on her hips, ruffling her wings.

"The little things are important because the little things make up the big things. If you take out one, the whole thing goes boom. Then the big things are gone, too. It's like one moment in your life. Little, small, small moments make up your life. Take out one and you may have never met a friend, done good on a test, or made a team. Small things matter. Like your wings, Hinata. I know you feel bad about them, but they are important. They're part of you, and if you take them out, you go boom, too."

Hinata gasped. Natsu's words had touched him. Even though she was young, her words were often wise beyond her years.

Hinata stood up. "Ok, Natsu. I get it."

"I told you! You are important!"

He smiled. Then there was a knock at the door.

"Stay here, Natsu. I'll get it."

Hinata ran over to the door and opened it. It was Kageyama.

"Kageyama? Why are you here?"

Natsu, ignoring Hinata's orders, ran over. "Yama-kun is here! Hinata? Why is Yama-kun here?"

Kageyama answered. "I'm going to teach your brother how to fly."

"You... You are going to what?" Hinata gasped.

Kageyama ruffled his wings impatiently. "That's right. I'm going to get you off the ground. We're going to the park, now."

"Can I come?" Asked Natsu eagerly.

Kageyama looked down at Natsu. "Can she?"

"I guess," Hinata shrugged. "But are we really going?"

Kageyama narrowed his eyes.

"Of course we're going. Now come one, Crow-boy. We've got stuff to do."


	3. Chapter 3 - First Flight

Kageyama spread his wings wide, standing on the ice covered park bench.

"These are your flight feathers or primaries," He pointed to the long, flared feathers at the end of his wings. "They're the most important. They give you steering control and lift. Got it?"

Hinata, who was standing in front of him, nodded patiently. Kageyama was lecturing him on the different parts of your wings and how they worked.

I hope he listens. This stuff is important.

Kageyama pointed to the under-feathers that were closer to his back than the primaries. "These are called the secondaries. They're important for even and steady flight."

Natsu stuck her head up from behind Hinata, extending her small swallow wings. "The ones on top are called coverts?"

He nodded, surprised by Natsu's knowledge. "That's correct. The coverts just keep your wings protected from high altitudes and temperature."

"Is that why the Nationals competitors wear the metal braces? To keep them warm?" Hinata asked. Competitors would often fit lightweight braces over their coverts.

"Not really," Kageyama shook his head. "It protects the wings from bending back and breaking at such high speeds. You'll see me wearing mine at the Nationals."

"Yama-kun is in the Nationals, Hinata?" Natsu clapped her hands in delight.

Hinata ruffled his wings, shielding himself from the crisp January air. "Yes, Natsu. Didn't I tell you yesterday?"

"Wow, Hinata," Natsu looked at Kageyama. "Your boyfriend is better than I thought!"

Kageyama felt his face grow warm, and he shifted from foot to foot, wings twitching.

"Alright, Hinata. I assume you understand everything I just told you?"

Hinata nodded eagerly, rubbing his cold hands together. "Can we fly, now?"

"Yup," Kageyama jumped off the bench, holding out his arms. "Grab on."

Hinata blinked. "Grab on? What? What are we doing?"

"Stupid," Kageyama sighed. "You're going to grab onto my arms, then I'll fly, and you can practice flapping your wings so you can feel what it's like to fly."

Hinata grasped Kageyama's wrists tightly. Kageyama looked away, not knowing why. He flared his wings, and jumped, beating his wings fast to make up for Hinata's weight. (Which wasn't much, mind you.)

They gained altitude, soaring over the treetops, and into the sky. Hinata and Kageyama were high enough to see Karasuno High from the park.

Hinata cried out in delight. "This is amazing, Kageyama!"

"Well, get used to it." He tried to sound bored, but really Kageyama was just as excited.

They flew over Karasuno, which looked like a dollhouse from their height. Hinata began to flap his wings, trying out the motions.

"I got it, Kageyama!" He looked up at Kageyama.

"Great," Kageyama praised. "Now, we'll fly to a lower altitude, then I'll drop you, and you'll fly." He folded his wings in a little, pulling into a dive.

Hinata yelled, but most of his words were lost in the howling air. "You... are... not... dropping me! Kageyama! Don't drop me!"

Kageyama slowed their descent, glaring at him. "What do you mean, 'don't drop me'? I have to! You're never going to fly otherwise! Okay?"

Hinata tightened his grip on Kageyama's arms, making him wince in pain. "No! There has to be another way!"

Kageyama bent his wings a bit; they were now falling slowly and they could both "stand" vertically, across from each other.

"Listen to me, Hinata," Kageyama looked into Hinata's scared eyes. "It's going to be scary, but you have to try, okay?"

Hinata shook his head. The ground grew closer.

"Please, Hinata. Try for me. Please?" Kageyama loosened his grip, ever so slightly. Hinata cried out in fear, wings trembling.

Hinata looked at Kageyama. "Fine. I'll try. But only for you."

He let go.

Hinata was falling. He shut his eyes, trying to block everything out. He could hear Kageyama screaming at him to fly, and Natsu squealing excitedly. He could also hear himself screaming. Hinata flared his wings, and a sudden updraft snatched at them, pushing him upwards.

I'm flying!

He opened his eyes. Hinata was, on the updraft, being pushed upwards away from the park, slowly. He flapped his wings, and the updraft vanished. Hinata started to fall, again, and he shrieked, frantically flapping his tiny wings. He gained height, but not that much. Kageyama swooped in beside him, making Hinata sigh with relief.

"Are you okay?" Kageyama shouted over the wind.

Hinata nodded, pushing extra hard with his wings to withstand the bluffs. "Yeah. Can I land?"

"You can if you want to," Kageyama looked down at Natsu, who was waving, her little wings fluttering and flapping in excitement. "But you should fly some more."

Hinata shook his head and tried to do a fancy dive like Kageyama. It didn't really work. He ended up clumsily falling in slow motion towards the park, but at least he didn't face-plant in front of Kageyama. That would have been really embarrassing.

He had never felt so disappointed as his feet touched the cold ground.

Kageyama landed beside him, a little out of breath.

"How was it, Hinata?"

Hinata looked up, eyes shining in delight. "OhmygoditwassofunI'veneverflownanditwasamazingisthathowitfeelstoflyallthetime?"

"Well…Um... Run that by me again?" Kageyama frowned.

"Sorry. Just excited." Hinata laughed. "I said, 'Oh my God it was so fun I've never flown before and it was amazing. Is that how it feels to fly all the time?"

Kageyama nodded slowly. "Yeah, without all the screaming."

Hinata remembered all his screeching when he was trying to fly. Natsu ran over to them.

"Hinata! You flew! Good job! Mommy is going to be so proud!" She grinned.

Hinata ruffled his wings. "Thanks, Natsu."

Natsu turned to Kageyama. "Yama-kun! Thank you for teaching Hinata how to fly! Now I don't have to be carried by Mei-Lee to school every day!" She smiled even wider, if that was possible. Which it probably wasn't, but Natsu broke most laws of physics. That girl could eat half her weight and weigh less the next day.

The trio stood in an awkward silence.

Kageyama cleared his throat. "Alright, Hinata. Let's see you fly, again."

"What?" Hinata whipped around, golden-brown eyes staring into Kageyama's face. "Um…I think I've flown enough for one day."

Natsu nodded. "I don't want Hinata to get tired. Or hurt."

"No, no. You need to practice. Or else the muscles in your wings will get weak and I'll have to drop you from the sky again. And would you really want that?" Kageyama glared at Hinata.

Secretly, he did want to have to be picked up by Kageyama again, for them to fly together. But Hinata was stubborn.

"I don't need to practice! I need to go home before Mom finds out what you've done!" He pouted.

Kageyama shook his head. "Do you know how much I practice for the Nationals, every day? Six hours. Six, long, hard hours of non-stop practice."

"Well, you know what? This isn't the nationals." Hinata shook his wings out. "I don't need to practice!"

They were both getting mad, at each other. Natsu whipped her head back and forth, trying to keep up with the panicked argument.

"Yes, you need to practice!"

"No, I don't! It's just flying!"

"Just flying? If I remember properly, yesterday, you really wanted to fly."

"But I shouldn't have to practice!"

"Just do it again!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO PRACTICE!"

"YES, PRACTICE!"

Hinata snapped his wings open, staring Kageyama down.

"What is your problem, Kageyama?" He whispered hoarsely.

Kageyama bristled his black wings, glaring back at the first-year. "I don't have a problem. I think you, with your too-small wings, and the _I don't want to practice_ thing, you have problems."

Hinata inhaled sharply, feeling his face grow hot at the thought of his small wings.  
"Kageyama… no…" He felt tears running down his face, but Hinata didn't care; he was too angry and upset to do anything.

He leapt forward and kicked Kageyama in the shin. It didn't hurt much, but it felt good to kick Kageyama. To hurt him, make him pay for what he said. Hinata grabbed Natsu by the wrist, making her squeal in surprise. Natsu wasn't used to being grabbed so hard.

"Come on, Natsu. Let's go home." He stalked off towards the path that lead home.

Kageyama called after them. "No! Hinata! Wait! I'm sorry…"

Hinata ignored Kageyama's cries, continuing to walk home.

"Just go away, Kageyama."

Kageyama watched Hinata walk away until he was just a small dark spot among the white snow.

"I'm sorry," He whispered to himself. "I really am."

Kageyama stood up, black boots crunching the icy snow.

"I'm sorry, Shōyō!" He yelled, not caring if Hinata heard him or not.

Kageyama picked up one of Hinata's feathers that had been dropped onto the cold ground. He clutched it to his chest. "Please don't hate me. _Please._ "

"Goodbye, Hinata…"

Hinata slammed the door shut behind him, tossing his coat onto the floor.

"Go get ready for dinner, Natsu."

Natsu skittered off, wings flapping behind her, and Hinata buried his hands in his face.

 _What did I do?_

He stared at the ceiling.

 _I lost a friend. That's what I did. A friend? Maybe... more. Or was he my friend at all?_

Hinata picked up the grey jacket off the floor, wiping off a few clumps of ice. He reached into the pocket and pulled out a feather. But not just any feather. Kageyama's feather. Hinata had found it just outside Karasuno yesterday. It was a primary feather, long and black. It was about as long as his forearm and as wide as it, too.

He held the feather close to his chest, feeling it tickle his chin. Hinata sighed, another tear falling down his cheek. The small raven dragged his hand across his face, wiping away one tear, but not the many others that followed.

Hinata heard Natsu coming down the stairs, and he darted quickly into a small room, where he kneeled in the shadows, silent tears falling down his face. He shut the door behind him quietly, leaving him in almost darkness.

The small room he was hiding in had a tiny little window, and Hinata looked out it, seeing the setting sun, which cast an orange glow over everything. He could see Yamaguchi's and Takito's house from here, across the street and three or four houses down. Right now Takito would be at home, cooking dinner. Yamaguchi would be sitting outside the Nationals stadium, watching Mei practice. A knock on the door startled him.

It was Takito.

 _Shoot!_ Hinata jumped up. _I forgot Takito was supposed to come over for the project._

"Oi, Shoyo, whatcha doing?"

"Oh, hello, Takito," He wiped his eyes, wings drooping with shame. "I'm doing nothing."

Takito folded her wings and stepped into the room, hands on her hips. "Were you... _crying?_ "

"I don't cry, Takito." Hinata narrowed his eyes, hiding Kageyama's feather behind his back.

Takito sighed. "Anyways, what are you hiding behind your back?"

Hinata cursed under his breath. Takito had a knack for sensing objects and emotions. It was almost kind of creepy. She called it her Takito-sense.

"Um…" Hinata held out the feather. "This?"

Takito grabbed the feather from Hinata, but she was careful with it. "This is a raven feather. And not yours."

Hinata nodded slowly. "That's right…"

"Where did you get it? I want one of these!" Takito handed the feather back to Hinata, who held it nervously.

He shifted back and forth on his feet. "You can't just get them, Takito!"

"Well, then, where did you _find_ it?" She twitched her wings impatiently, the blue feathers rippling back and forth.

Hinata narrowed his eyes at the kingfisher-winged girl. "A friend gave it to me."

She tossed her long black hair over her shoulder. "Ok, whatever. Can we get started on this essay, already?"

"Yeah, sure," Hinata swung the door wide open, stepping outside and blinking in the bright light. "The stuff is in my room."

"Well, time to go die in essay heaven," Takito laughed at her own joke. "Let's go."

The duo marched up to Hinata's room after grabbing a bag of tortilla chips. Along with salsa, a plate of meat buns, and two cans of soda. Essential to survival, Takito had said.

"Do you even have any idea of what to do, Takito?" Hinata asked once they sat down at his desk.

Takito frowned at him. "You're asking me. Takito. I have no idea. I'm not smart, like SaltyShima."

Hinata giggled at Tsuki's new, fitting, nickname, but couldn't help himself, and had to point out that Takito was one of the smartest in the class, besides Nodono Chiayi, but no one was as smart as _him._

"Anyways, that's what research is for, right?" Hinata opened his laptop, pulling up a research page.

"Oh really," Takito grabbed her computer, too. "I thought research was a waste of time. Just a huge waste of time."

Hinata yawned, tired from the day's events. "Alright, as you said, time to die in essay heaven. What are you waiting for?"

"What?" Takito ignored this question. "Why do you keep yawning? You're supposed to be like the sun, always full of energy! Are you okay, Shōyō?"

His breath hitched in his throat.

 _Why is Takito so good at sensing emotions?_

"Um… No! I'm fine!"

"You sure, now?" Takito glared at him.

"Yeah. Totally. Just great."

Kageyama slammed his bedroom door shut and smashed down onto his bed. No one was home, so he could play his music as loud as he wanted or spike volleyballs against the wall.

He shoved a disc into his CD player and turned the volume up really, really loud, then grabbed the volleyball from his closet and bounced it angrily on the wooden ground.

 _What did I just do? I'm so stupid!_

Kageyama spiked the volleyball at his door, and it shook with a satisfying _clunk._ He did that over and over; certain the door might break. But he didn't care. He was mad. Eventually Kageyama grew tired and let the ball bounce to the ground, settling finally by his feet.

 _It was all my fault…_

He lay down on his bed, listening to the heavy thump of the music. The track changed, and another song came on. It was Kageyama's favorite song, the one he always would actually get up and dance to, and the one he told Hinata about. But now, he couldn't care less about this song. Everything just sounded like a blur of nothing and blackness to him.

Kageyama took a shuddery breath.

 _Why do I feel like I'm going to cry? I don't cry!_

He took another shaky breath.

 _I've never felt so much like…_

 _Like a failure!_

The last time Kageyama had felt like this, that was like… 5 years ago? The memory was vivid like it happened seconds ago.

He had just done his first dive; not in a competition. For practice, his coach had said. But Kageyama messed it up, obviously. Apparently his wrists weren't in the right position, so he could have broken his wrists, sprained a finger, blah, blah blah. He remembered how his coach had yelled at him.

"Hello? Were you trying to be stupid? That was the stupidest dive I've ever seen! What's wrong with you? Seriously, Kageyama! I have half the mind to let you go!"

Kageyama recalled fleeing the training area, and flying home in tears, locking himself in his room and avoiding his family for weeks after that. He didn't even eat for two days; Kageyama was that ashamed.

A dull pain in his leg broke him out of the memory. Hinata had kicked him in the shin, probably leaving a bruise that his coach would yell about. Kageyama remembered that, too.

 _Wow. I actually made someone mad enough to hurt me. And Hinata wouldn't hurt anyone, ever. Would he?_

Now, he climbed up to the windowsill, watching the sun slip beneath the rows of houses, setting a fiery orange glow over everything. The glow was the same color as Hinata's messy hair, which made Kageyama's heart ache. Soon, it was dark, sun and light completely gone from this part of the world. Kageyama reached into his blue sweatshirt pocket, and pulled out the feather. It was downy and soft, softer than usual feathers. He brought it close to his face, and pressed it to his heart.

 _I'm sorry, Hinata._

The black feather was about as long as his index finger, and just a bit wider. It held a certain kind of emotion that Kageyama couldn't quite place his finger on. He laid the feather on his desk, next to his notebook with the drawing of Hinata. Hinata's drawing.

Kageyama grabbed his phone, pulling up his text messages with Hinata. He scrolled through all of them, remembering the moments, like when Kageyama told Hinata he was in the Nationals. He could almost imagine Hinata dropping his phone off the bed in surprise, or maybe on his face. Kageyama began to type,

 _Hinata, I'm sorry. Please forgive me._

No response.

 _Please? I'm really sorry._

Kageyama sat down on his bed, and waited for what seemed like forever for a reply. But Hinata didn't even read his message.

 _Hinata. Please._

Another eternity went by, and nothing changed. It made Kageyama want to throw his phone across the room. He looked out the window again. The first stars were starting to peek out from the blanket of midnight blue.

He sighed, replaying that scene in his head. All the things he could have said instead. All the things he never should have said. How he had called out, _goodbye,_ to Hinata as a last resort.

 _We say goodbye all the time, but we never know which one will be our last._


	4. Chapter 4 - Redemption

Takito tapped Hinata on the shoulder for the sixth (or was it the seventh?) time.

"Dude. Focus."

Hinata jumped. "S-sorry, Takito!"

"Nah, it's fine," Takito turned back to her notebook. "But seriously. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing is bothering me..." Hinata gulped.

She sighed, pulling her hair back into a messy ponytail and securing it with a bright orange elastic. "Nope. Something's up. Trust the Takito-sense, man." Takito tapped her head knowingly. "Spill."

Hinata shook his head. Takito sighed, emptying yet another can of soda.

"Isn't that your fifth can of soda?"

"Nope. Sixth." Takito reached for the plate of meat buns, but Hinata slapped her hand away.

"Hey! Those are mine! And you've already eaten enough..."

It was true. Takito ate so much food, Hinata failed to comprehend how she didn't explode from how much she consumed. Takito always complained she was hungry, to make things even more insane.

"Well, if you tell me what's bothering you, I won't eat anymore." Takito pouted and rubbed her flat stomach.

Hinata glared at Takito. "No way."

"Then say goodbye to your meat buns, Shōyō." She wiggled her fingers towards the plate.

"No! Fine! I'll tell you." Hinata pulled the plate away from Takito, but she was too fast. She grabbed a bun off the ceramic plate, and shoved it into her mouth.

"Too late," She announced, mouth full. "But anyways, tell me?"

Hinata groaned inwardly. "It's just a dumb argument with a dumb friend..."

"First of all," Takito leaned forward, swallowing the meat bun.

"Don't call any of your friends dumb, unless it's me. I don't really care. And second, dumb arguments with friends don't bother you this much. Three years ago, I punched you in the face because you said my project was stupid, and I said your cooking sucked. But the next day, we were playing volleyball together in the back yard. So no. It's something worse."

"How you do you know this much?" Hinata sighed.

Takito shrugged. "As I said before. Takito-sense."

"You've got no other sense besides that..."

"Whatever," Takito cracked open another can of soda. "Who's this friend, anyways?"

Hinata's heart did the strange thing again at the thought of Kageyama.

"Um... Tobio Kageyama? He's a second year."

Takito jumped up from her seat. "Kageyama? He's in the nationals, right?"

"Um... Yeah?" Hinata nodded slowly. "Why are you so excited?"

"My father is his wing brace technician!" Takito explained. "And his costume designer," She added on proudly.

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Really? Cool."

"Yeah, I know. I have his braces at my house right now. They're so fancy. Anyways, what were you doing hanging out with Tobio? Not to be offensive or anything." Takito sat back down, professional once more.

Hinata explained his rooftop encounter patiently, waiting about five minutes for Takito to stop laughing after he told her how he fell off the roof.

"I'm sorry..." She said between giggles. "Just... That's hilarious, Hinata..." Takito broke down into another fit of laughter.

"So yeah," Hinata finished. "That's what happened."

Takito snapped her fingers, making him jump. "So that happened today... And that's why you were in that tiny room, crying. And that also explains the feather. Wow. I could write a whole book on your love story here."

"It's not a love story!" Hinata stared at his feet.

Takito waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever. So you're sad about Kageyama?"

"He called my wings tiny, Takito." Said Hinata, bitterly.

Takito ruffled her wings, leaning back and stretching. "Alright. So you're mad at him?"

"Well, not really," Hinata shrugged, wings twitching with confusion. "I just feel bad."

"Like, guilty bad? Or some other kind of bad? Like, evil bad?"

He shook his head. "No. Not evil bad. Just... I want him to be my friend again, okay?"

"Alright," Takito nodded. "So you want him to apologize to you?"

"I... I want to apologize to him." Hinata sighed, burying his face in his hands.

Takito frowned. "Hey, Hinata. Don't hide on me like that. Come on. I think you both should apologize to each other..."

"Are you sure?" Hinata peeked out from between his fingers. "I won't see him until Monday..."

She rested her hands on her elbows, thinking. "Alright, then you can go over to his house and apologize. Actually, maybe the shop. He's got to pick up his braces for the practice tomorrow, so that would work perfectly."

"What?" Hinata's wings snapped open at the very thought of seeing Kageyama again.

Takito crossed her arms. "Not now, stupid. And I'll come with you; moral support. Maybe tomorrow."

"Um..."

"Great! See you at eight, tomorrow. And thanks for all the food." Takito grabbed her bag, shook out her wings, and marched out the door.

Hinata jumped up. "Takito, wait!"

She turned, hand on the doorknob. "Yeah?"

"I-I'm sorry..." He hung his head in shame.

Takito's hand slipped from the doorknob. "What are you talking about?"

"I dragged you into this, didn't I? And now Kageyama's going to hate you." Hinata sighed again.

Takito shook her head. "No. I volunteered. I want to help you, Hinata."

"You actually want to help me?" Hinata smiled. "That's strange for you!"

She grinned, but it was forced. "It just hurts me to see you so sad, Hinata. You're usually like the sun, so bright and happy. Exuberant. So when I see you all depressed and angsty... I just have to do something."

"Alright. Goodbye, Takito."

"Sayonara, Shōyō"

Kageyama woke up suddenly, in the middle of the night. His phone was buzzing.

 _Who the heck would be texting me at four in the morning?_

He grabbed it off the floor, where it had been charging. It was Nishinoya.

"What even?"

Then he remembered. Noya was away someplace for an exchange program. So it was probably three in the afternoon where he was.

 _What's up, Kageyama-kun?_ The message read, _are you doing okay?_

Kageyama groaned. Noya had to text him now. And ask how he was doing.

 _Because I'm doing just great,_ Kageyama thought. _Just great._

He began to text back, telling Nishinoya all about his issues with Hinata, but decided against it. Kageyama deleted his text, replacing it with,

 _I'm fine._

 _There you go, Tobio. Lying again. Of course you're fine._

He stared out the window, fully awake after staring into the bright light of his phone. Even though it was four, Kageyama could still see the dusky stars in the sky, just before dawn.

The sky was a dark blue, with a tiny ribbon of pink against the east, indicating a sunrise soon.

Kageyama still looked out the window, watching the pink ribbon grow to a line, then a stripe, like a stroke of a brush. Before he knew it, the sun was fully up, and Kageyama was still sitting straight up in bed, having stayed up almost all night. It was seven thirty.

 _Oh no! I have practice today!_

Kageyama leapt out of bed, landing with a huge thud on the floor. He groped under the bed for his practice clothes.

 _No, no, NO! I'm going to be late, and I still have to pick up my braces from the shop!_

Kageyama thundered through the kitchen, probably waking up everyone in the house.

"I have to go pick up my braces from the tech shop and I have practice! I'll be back at seven!" He yelled, to no one in particular.

He grabbed a random piece of fruit from the fridge and stuffed it in his bag hastily, in a giant rush. Kageyama also shoved half a granola bar in his mouth and washed it down with a huge sip of milk.

 _Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!_

Kageyama sprinted out the door, panting for breath. Outside, the sun had just come up, and it was still really cold. He shivered, rustling his wings around him to keep out the cold.

 _Great. It's really cold outside and I forget to bring a jacket._

He took off from the sidewalk, soaring into the air. Kageyama looked for the tech shop, a small building about ten minutes away. The raven flew over the park Hinata and him were at yesterday, and he closed his eyes, trying to push the painful memories out of his head.

 _Whatever. The past is the past, and the past is just the past. Right?_

He glided over Karasuno silently, and spotted the machine shop, just a few blocks down from the school. Kageyama gave a powerful beat of his wings and dipped down into a steep dive.

He had to remind himself that this wasn't a competition, and he didn't have to worry about swooping really close to the ground or keeping his hands in the right position.

Kageyama bent his wings inwards, slowing his descent and fluttering lightly to the ground. The tech shop as he called it, was a modest building, short and compact. Inside was cozy and crowded with all sorts of equipment and costumes.

 _I think I'm picking up my costume today, too._

He pushed the door open, inhaling the welcoming smell of musty feathers and wood. The bell above the door tinkled cheerfully, and a welcome blast of heat hit him in the face. Kageyama had to fold in his wings to duck through the narrow door.

Mr. Mitaichi's daughter, Takito, was already at the front desk, setting up a display stand for the newest pair of braces. He watched as she folded the braces in perfectly and place them on the shelf.

She turned. "Oh, hey, Kageyama. What can I get for you?"

Kageyama glanced around the shop, taking in the various pieces of equipment and costumes illuminated by the warm, but dim light. "I think I'm here just to pick up my stuff."

Takito leaned forward on the desk. She was wearing a black jacket and jeans. And eyeliner.

"That's new." Kageyama pointed out.

Takito batted her eyes. "I know, right! My mom got it for me, and I just got kind of excited and put it on this morning. Does it look okay?"

Kageyama nodded slowly. "I have no knowledge on makeup, okay?"

"Hey, maybe you should wear eyeliner in the Nationals! Part of your costume. That would look really cool. Here! I'll put some on for you!"

She rummaged through her bag and pulled a black stick out triumphantly. "Aha!"

"Um, Takito," Kageyama took a step back, a little overwhelmed by Takito's enthusiastic demeanor. She was usually excited about things, but today, maybe someone had a little too much sugar?

"I don't think I need... eyeliner."

"Oh, come on. You can take it off if you don't like it. I just want to try... Please?"

Kageyama groaned. "Fine. But I'm taking it off as soon as you're finished."

She shrugged, uncapping the makeup. "Okay, whatever. Hold really still."

Kageyama muttered something about not trusting Takito so close to his face with a sharp tool, but obliged anyways.

Takito brandished the pen dramatically, and a few minutes later, Kageyama's new look was complete.

"There we go!" She took a step back to see how things went.

Kageyama opened his eyes. "Um... Thanks?"

"I know we have a mirror here somewhere..." Takito frowned. "Here!" She pulled a small mirror out of a nearby box.

Kageyama grabbed it from Takito and peered at himself. His jaw dropped.

"Takito! What did you do?" He handed the mirror back to her.

Takito placed the glass back down on the desk. "What? Do you not like it?"

"No! No... I think it's fine!" Kageyama grabbed the mirror again, just to make sure he wasn't imagining things. "You know; I think I'll wear this in the nationals."

Takito jumped up and down, wings fluttering in delight. "Yes! I knew it! Anyways, your stuff."

Kageyama pried his eyes away from the mirror. "Yeah. My stuff."

"Be back in a minute." Takito ducked into the back room, and he heard her muttering to herself, tossing things aside.

"I thought was in box A1... No... I'm looking for a size 16B. What am I doing? Okay... that's not what I was looking for... Ew, what even? Aha! That looks like Yama-kun's!"

Takito came back with dark blue box. "This is your stuff."

"Thanks." Kageyama bent down to pick it up, but Takito stopped him.

"No, not yet. I'm getting it out. We have to tune your braces." She pulled out the black metal and set it on the desk, grabbing a screwdriver.

Kageyama sighed. "Well, I'm glad I got here early."

"Yup!" Takito began to tune the braces, making sure the tension was right. A properly tuned brace could make the difference between a good score and an excellent one. "Go try on your costume. You haven't even seen it, have you?"

"No..." Kageyama reached inside the box.

Takito pulled a stray screw out of his braces. "What was that doing in there? Anyways, let me get it for you."

She pulled a silky black garment out of the blue box.

Kageyama gasped. It was majestic. "Wow..."

"I know, right? Honestly, I have no idea how you would lose in this thing."

The costume was a full-body leotard, all black with silver streaks along the arms and legs. The rib-line was decorated with small feathers, ruffles, and sparkles that shimmered in the light.

"Takito, your dad really outdid himself with this one."

She smiled. "Well, don't mention it. He's not even here to receive your praise. We designed it together. It's supposed to match your nickname."

"My... nickname?" Kageyama frowned. "You mean, Yama-kun?"

Takito laughed. "No! Your Nationals-name. We're calling you 'Black Lightning', because you're so fast, and your costume is black."

"Oh... so that's why Mei's nickname is Blazing Thunder?"

"Well," she shrugged. "I have no idea. I've never seen her fly."

Kageyama clutched the costume to his chest. "Can I try this on?"

"Go ahead..." Takito pointed to the back room, and turned back to fixing the braces.

He ducked into the back room, hearing a sharp _ping!_ and Takito cursing.

"Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! I get hit with a screw in the face! What is with today? Ow!"

Kageyama pulled on his costume, making sure his wings were in the correct spot. He glanced in the long mirror leaned up against a stack of boxes and gasped.

He barely recognized himself. The costume fit perfectly, which was no surprise, and like Takito said, there was no way he could lose in this costume. Kageyama spread his wings excitedly, wanting to see what he would look like. But instead, he knocked half the boxes over, and a bunch of stuff spilled out.

 _Whoops._

Takito stuck her head in, hands over her eyes.

"What did you do? And are you decent? Like, can I open my eyes without being scarred for life?"

"Um... I knocked over a few boxes. And yeah, you can look."

Takito opened her eyes and glowered at him. She picked up most of the boxes and stuffed random things back inside, muttering something about categories and serial numbers.

Kageyama pulled at the hem of his costume. "Thanks, Takito."

"Thank my dad, not me. I just designed it." She shrugged.

"Yeah, okay, whatever," Kageyama sighed. "Am I supposed to wear this to practice?"

Takito nodded. "Yup! Oh, and your braces. Stupid screws. Let me get them for you."

She exited the room, leaving Kageyama alone. He shook his wings out. Kageyama reached into his bag and brought out Hinata's feather.

But at that moment, Takito came back, holding a large pair of matte black braces.

"Here they are... What are you holding?" She frowned at the tiny feather in his hand.

Kageyama jumped. He shoved the feather into his bag. "Nothing!"

"Come on, Kageyama," Takito put her hands on her hips. "It has to be something."

"It's nothing!" He retorted defensively.

She shrugged. "Okay, whatever. Here are your braces, fully tuned!"

Takito had learned how to tune braces from her dad, and it turned out she had a hidden talent for tuning. Competitors would often come to the shop to get their braces tuned just by her before the Nationals.

Kageyama clicked the braces on, and Takito stepped behind him, adjusting the tension to perfection.

"How does that feel? Be honest, here."

Kageyama bent his wings, and the braces held his wings in place stiffly. "They're a little tight."

"Alright, well I'll loosen them. " She flipped a hidden knob and the braces sagged.

Kageyama turned around. "Too loose!"

"I know. I have to loosen them all the way in order for me to tighten them properly!" She produced a screwdriver from her jeans pocket and fiddled with the brackets.

"Okay, how's this?" Takito stepped back.

Kageyama bent his wings again, and the braces were perfect. They still allowed his wings to move, but if he tried to over-extend them, the brace would hold the wings in place to prevent injury.

He spread his wings, carefully this time, trying to get used to the feeling of metal against feather. "These are perfect. I still have no idea how you pull this off."

"I have no idea, either. It's based off how you feel, though, not me. I just get your settings in the right area then adjust." Takito shrugged, twitching her wings.

Kageyama frowned. "What model are these?"

"Um... Sabre 1950?" She checked the model engraving. "Yeah. Size 16B National use approved, X-wing special edition, platinum."

He gasped. "Sabre 1950? X-wing platinum?"

"Yeah. Why?" Takito slipped the tool back in her pocket.

"Sabre Platinum's are really rare in a size 16B," Kageyama explained. "Are these custom?"

Takito shook her head. "Not really... I had to do some modifications in order for these to be compatible for competitions, then send in, like, a million applications for these to be suitable for the Nationals. Yeesh!"

"So you modded these?" Kageyama asked.

"I guess," Takito checked the clips on the braces again. "They're my first mod. Are they okay? I took the parts from other Sabers and added the crossbar in the back to make it okay for dives."

"You should sell these in the shop! They're really good!"

"First, these took eight months to make, second, these are probably the only custom modded braces in the Nationals. Wouldn't you want to feel unique?" Takito shrugged.

Kageyama thought about this. The only pair of modded braces in the Nationals. Competitors often all bought the same brand and model to make their groups look uniform. But since he didn't do any group acts, it was fine. Besides, Takito was right. He felt special.

"So, you applied to get these braces?" He asked.

Takito turned around from sorting things in boxes. "No, I made them, then applied so you could use them in competitions."

"Oh."

"And, guess what? These are only certified for use by you." She pulled an official-looking paper out from a drawer full of folders and papers. Takito handed the sheet to Kageyama.

 _Brace: Modded Sabre 1950, Platinum X-wing edition_

 _Registered brace number: 1446708_

 _Modifier: Mitaichi Takito (mod no. 1446733)_

 _Only certified for use by competitor no. 144670 (Tobio Kageyama), U20 Junior Class._

"Wow..." Kageyama noted. "That's official."

She nodded. "Super official. They don't want anyone else using these things but you. And, they would probably only fit you."

A pleasant jingle told Takito there was another customer.

"Stay here," she warned. "I don't want this shop being mobbed because the famous Tobio Kageyama is here. Again."

Last year, Kageyama had come to get his braces fit before Takito started to modify them, and someone had tipped the press that he was going to be coming to the shop. The whole news crew had shown up, and Takito's father had to resort to swatting them away with a rolled up sheet of Christmas wrapping paper.

Takito hopped out of the back room, making sure the door was firmly shut behind Kageyama.

"How can I help you?"

Kageyama listened though the door.

"Oh, yes, of course. I've been waiting a while."

He heard someone close the front door, and Takito telling them to sit down on the brace fitting bench.

"Oi, Kageyama! Someone wants to see you!" She called out.

Kageyama stiffened.

"It's not the press or anyone special," Takito promised. "Chill. Come on out, Tobio!"

He took a deep breath, and twisted the doorknob, stepping back into the shop. Takito was turned away from Kageyama, staring at the customer.

She stepped aside. "Kageyama, this is Hinata. I presume you've met?"

Kageyama gasped. "Hinata? What are you doing here?"

Hinata looked up, golden brown eyes dark and sad.

"We... we have to talk."


	5. Chapter 5 - Promise Me Nothing

They both stared at each other for the longest time. Hinata's heart was pounding so hard, he could feel it in his feet. His throat tightened up, and all the sudden, Hinata was at loss for words. The night before, he had prepared everything he was going to say to Kageyama, but that had just fell out the window. Gone.

"I... Kageyama..."

Takito raised an eyebrow.

He opened his mouth, random words coming out in a panic. "YOU LEFT THIS AT SCHOOL?!" Hinata pulled out Kageyama's feather, and Takito nodded knowingly.

Kageyama frowned, and took the feather from Hinata gently. Their hands brushed, and Hinata gasped. But he made no move to pull his hand away.

"Thanks, Hinata." Kageyama nodded curtly.

Another tense silence.

Takito clapped her hands. "Alright... I'm going to go get some banana bread..." She ran over to her bag and pulled out a container with a loaf in it.

"Do you just, like," Hinata narrowed his eyes at the brown loaf. "Carry around food with you?"

She cracked open the lid of the container, filling the small shop with scents of fresh-baked goods. "Um, of course. Who wouldn't? Do you guys want some?" Takito shoved a large slice in her mouth.

"It's delicious," She announced around a huge mouthful of banana bread. "And I even baked it myself."

Hinata looked skeptical but took a piece anyways. Kageyama did, too.

They stood around eating Takito's' banana bread (which was surprisingly good), staring at each other awkwardly.

"So..." Takito cleared her throat, reaching for another slice. "You guys have something to talk about, I presume?"

Hinata nearly choked on the delicious food.

Why does she have to be so... so upfront about things?

"Actually, yes. Kageyama, what are you wearing?!" He stared at Kageyama.

Kageyama twitched his wings, blushing. "Um... This is my costume for the Nationals. I'm wearing the braces I told you about, too."

Hinata shook his head. "I know that. Your face...?" He pointed to Kageyama's face.

"Oh. That." Kageyama sighed. "That was Takito's idea."

Takito crossed her arms. "You said you liked it!"

"I do," Kageyama pointed out. "But did you have to make it so obvious?"

She nodded. "Yes, I did. And it looks fine. I could have made the wings a bit thicker, though."

The trio exchanged an odd look.

Hinata glanced at Kageyama. "As I said before... we have to... um... you know... talk."

Kageyama sat down. "Yeah, but first, you left this at the park..." He handed Hinata his tiny feather.

Takito jumped up and down. "You guys both had each other's feathers? COOL!" She shook out her wings, stretching.

Hinata nodded slowly, unsure.

"Anyways," Takito turned to leave. "You guys have to do your talk thing, so I will be in the back, sorting stuff. If someone starts shredding someone to bits, I have a screwdriver and I will poke them. Got it?"

Kageyama and Hinata shared a confused look.

"I'm kidding. I won't poke them. I'll probably have to drag one of you out of the shop and send another's remains home in a matchbox." She strode off into the back room.

Great. Now I'm alone with Kageyama, Hinata thought sadly.

Before the argument, Hinata would have paid to be alone like this, with a loaf of delicious banana bread, but now, it was nothing but awkward and uncomfortable. For both of them. And the banana bread, too, probably.

Kageyama ruffled his wings. "So..."

"So... yeah." Hinata looked at his feet.

A loud crash from the back room startled Hinata, making him jump back and fall off the bench.

"Don't mind me," Takito yelled. "I just dropped some stuff. Continue your little heart to heart!"

Hinata climbed back into his seat sheepishly. Kageyama stared at him.

He gulped. Kageyama's eyeliner makes him look scary.

Kageyama cleared his throat. "Whatever you have to say, make it quick. I have my Nationals practice soon."

"Okay, well," Hinata took a deep but tight breath. "I'm... um... I'm..."

"You're..." Kageyama prompted.

Hinata, voice barely audible, whispered, "I'm sorry."

"You should be." Kageyama muttered, regretting his words instantly.

Hinata whipped around, staring into Kageyama's black-lined, dark blue eyes.

Kageyama looked away. "I mean... you get what I mean, okay?" He frowned.

"No, I don't get what you mean." Hinata said, voice still really quiet.

The older boy frowned. "Um... I didn't really mean that, okay? I'm sorry."

Hinata sighed. "You have a lot of other things to be sorry for, too, you know?"

"Yeah," Kageyama leaned forward, putting his head in his hands. "I know I do."

Why isn't he apologizing? Hinata thought. He did things wrong, too!

He felt a rush of anger at Kageyama. "You have to apologize to me, stupid!" Hinata snapped, and smacked him on the shoulder.

Kageyama blinked, both eyes at once. "But I did nothing wrong!" He protested.

"No," Hinata considered smacking Kageyama again, maybe somewhere more painful. "You called my wings... tiny!"

It's the truth, Kageyama wanted to say.

"Okay, okay, okay. I'm... I'm sorry, Hinata..." He murmured. The words felt weird in his mouth, like they were wrapped in sticky cotton.

"I'm sorry, Hinata..."

Hinata let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Okay."

"Do you, um," Kageyama looked at Hinata, who looked away. "Forgive me?"

Hinata frowned, thinking long and hard.

I want him to be my friend again... But does he deserve it? Do I even deserve it?

"I'm not sure," Kageyama's wings drooped, making Hinata feel guilty. "But can we forget this whole dumb argument?"

They both nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. Let's start over."

"Agreed." Hinata spoke softly, uncertain almost.

Kageyama turned away, and Hinata put his hands over his eyes.

The darkness was comforting, just like when he would climb to the roof in the blackness.

He heard the older boy turn around, and Hinata pulled his hands away.

"Nice to meet you. My name's Kageyama. Kageyama Tobio. What's your name?"

Hinata took a deep breath. "I'm Hinata. Hinata Shōyō."

They both stared into each other's eyes for about a minute, and both looked away at the same time.

That was so cheesy!

Kageyama tapped Hinata on the shoulder. Hinata whipped around.

"So... um...We're all clear with that?" He asked, almost scared.

Hinata nodded. "Yeah. All clear."

"Shake on it?" Kageyama extended his hand.

Hinata took Kageyama's hand, which was much bigger than his, and shook. "Done."

Kageyama straightened his wings, aligning all the feathers with the brace. "In that case, um, do you want to come to Nationals practice?"

Hinata's heart leapt in his throat.

See the stadium before the Nationals? With Kageyama? And see him fly? In that costume?

"Sure."

Takito poked her head through the door, just on time. "Alright, everyone still has all their arms, legs, and wings. I assume we're all good here?"

"More than good," Kageyama announced. "We're doing great."

The boys smiled sheepishly. Takito shook her head, ducking back into the back room.

They sat in awkward silence. Hinata glanced over at Kageyama, who appeared to be lost deep in his own thoughts. He, tentatively at first, leaned over, but then his center of gravity took over. Hinata couldn't do much except for rest his head on Kageyama's shoulder, their wings brushing.

"Thanks, Kageyama."

Kageyama looked over and smiled. He extended one wing, bringing it around Hinata. He gasped. Kageyama's feathers were surprisingly soft for a Nationals competitor. And the braces weren't as restricting as Hinata thought they would be.

Takito strode softly to the center of the room.

"Aww, guys."

They leapt apart. Takito laughed.

"Tobio, you have practice in twenty minutes. Get going."

Kageyama jumped up, grabbed his bag, and took another piece of banana bread, all in one fluid motion.

Takito fluttered her wings, checking her phone. "You're coming to practice, right? Because YamaYama is going to be there. It'd be the perfect chance to get this stupid project done."

Hinata nodded. "Yeah. Are you coming?"

"I have to come," Takito explained. "First, if Kageyama messes up his braces, which he is probably going to, I will have to fix them, and second, I have to set up the tuning booth at the stadium."

"Okay." Hinata stood up to leave, standing next to Kageyama, who was patiently waiting for the younger two by the door.

Takito grabbed her bag and looked at them. "Everything's chill between you guys now, right? I won't have to do some fancy mid-flight karate to save someone's stupid little butt?"

Kageyama rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we're fine. Right, Hinata?"

"Yup. Better than ever." Hinata opened the door, wincing at the cold winter blast he got in his face.

Kageyama ruffled his wings out against the chill and wrapped one arm around Hinata, making the younger boy gasp again and look away.

Takito stepped outside, locking the door behind her.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go."

Kageyama pulled a key out his bag, unlocking the doors to the back of the stadium. It was where the contestants would wait until their turn. The room was quite well furnished, actually. The comforting wood walls reminded him of the shop, and there were even television screens, so you could watch the other competitions.

"You have the keys to the back?" Takito asked skeptically.

Kageyama nodded. "Yeah... You gave them to me, remember?"

"No, I don't remember," Takito sighed. "But anyways, where's Yamaguchi?"

The other door to the back room opened. "I'm here!"

Yamaguchi shouldered his bag, messy brown hair ruffled by the wind. He shook out his wings, pulling off his black jacket.

"It's really cold out!"

Hinata waved. "Hey, Yamaguchi! Where's Mei?"

"She's already out," Yamaguchi pointed to the arena. "Practicing."

They all shoved their bags into the shelves along the wall. Yamaguchi pulled out his laptop, which now had a galaxy pattern case.

"Nice case." Takito commented. "Does it help us finish our project faster?"

Hinata laughed. "Probably not."

"You'll see." Yamaguchi smiled, and opened the cover, revealing a star-pattered keyboard cover.

"Um, Yamaguchi," Kageyama pointed at the computer. "Is everything you have cosmic-themed?"

The freckled boy shrugged, pulling a galaxy pattern pencil case out of his bag. "What? I like stationery! And the keyboard cover is my sister's. I just borrowed it." Kageyama sighed.

Mei-Lee burst through the arena exit into the room. "YOU WHAT?"

Her younger brother slammed the cover shut, hiding the borrowed item. "Nothing."

She frowned. Mei was wearing glittery red braces, along with an orange and red costume, which was extremely... sparkly.

"Nice costume, Mei." Kageyama pointed out.

Mei narrowed her eyes. "Are you serious? Yours is so much nicer."

Kageyama looked through the windowed doors out into the arena. Clearly no expense had been spared with this setup. He stepped outside, pulling his jacket a little closer around him. It was really cold...

Five platforms, of varying heights, were suspended about twenty to seventy-five meters above the ground. There was a long and wide catwalk about fifty meters high that ran across the far left of the arena, probably for announcers to stand.

Kageyama would be diving off the five platforms in a few days. He gulped nervously.

I can't believe it... I'm going to be competing here.

Mei stood beside him, taking in everything. She fluttered her crimson red wings, looking at the structures expectantly.

"So this is it, huh, Yama-kun?" Takito asked.

He nodded, not really paying any attention. Kageyama turned to Mei.

"Where's our coach?"

Mei shrugged. "No idea. We should warm up." She beat her wings powerfully, taking off into the sky with ringing wingbeats.

"So that's why Mei's name is Blazing Thunder," Takito mused, watching from the stands with Hinata and Yamaguchi.

"Her wingbeats sound just like thunder. And her costume makes Mei look like a fireball."

Mei soared right by the audience, and perched on the railing. "That's right!" She took off again, doing fancy flips and spins.

"How did you get up there?" Kageyama asked, nodding towards the stadium's seats.

Takito shrugged. "Maybe there were stairs? And maybe we walked up them? I don't know... Anyways. Go warm up. I wanna see you up on that platform. Don't break your braces."

Kageyama scowled at Takito, scolding her sarcasm. He took a few running steps and spread his wings wide, catching a strong gust of wind, rising up into the sky.

The wind tore at his face and hair, making it messier then it already was. He pulled into a sharp rise, coming to a rest on the twenty-meter platform.

"ONLY TWENTY?" Takito yelled from below. "GO HIGHER!"

Kageyama glared down at her. "NO! I HAVE TO WARM UP!" He yelled.

Mei sped by the platform, executing a perfect barrel roll. Kageyama inched his toes towards the edge of the platform, where there was a gold line. That was where you were supposed to stand before diving. You would get the signal from the judge, then it was all you.

He took a deep breath, folding his wings into a streamlined position, and leapt over the edge. Gravity caught hold of him instantly, and he plummeted towards the ground. His coach always would tell him, on a twenty, to count to three, then spread.

One...

Two...

Three!

He opened his eyes, his face barely missed scraping the ground. With enormous effort, he flared his wings wide, feeling the air push back. The braces held his wings in place better than ever, and he kept in a nice, clean and straight formation. Kageyama drifted parallel to the ground until the end line, then set his feet down on the ground.

Takito shouted. "Eight and a half!"

Your dive was a score out of ten, and your total was out of 100. You would do two dives on each platform, the highest being the hardest.

Your score was based off, one, how close you got to the ground without touching it, which Kageyama almost always did fine on. Second, your form, which was how streamlined and graceful you were with it. Sometimes Kageyama lost points here. And lastly, you were graded on speed. If you went faster, you got more points. Kageyama had no problem with this, as he would always tuck his wings straight in and let himself fall. Other competitors would let out their wings a bit to slow their fall and let themselves have more time to pull out of the dive.

He turned to Takito, Yamaguchi, and Hinata. Takito was still yelling random things at him, and Yamaguchi was typing furiously on his galaxy-themed computer. Hinata was staring at Kageyama in awe, eyes gleaming.

"You're not an official judge! But what did I lose points on?" He asked, glaring at the kingfisher winged girl.

Takito tossed her hair out of her eyes, and the wind blew it right back. "FORM! AGAIN!"

Kageyama groaned. "AGAIN?"

"AGAIN!" Takito confirmed.

"Well," He argued. "It was only a warm up."

The girl shrugged. Kageyama looked over at Hinata, wanting to see his awed face again, but was rewarded with nothing but the boy staring at his computer, trying to figure out the project.

Why do I want to impress him?

He took off again, making sure to fly over the stands. Yamaguchi and Hinata looked up, Takito was focused on his every move. She liked to play judge all the time.

Kageyama flared his wings, flying faster and faster, aiming up to the seventy-five. This one was the hardest, and Hinata probably knew that.

Twenty...

Thirty-five...

Forty-five...

Sixty...

Seventy-five...

He touched down on the platform, feeling the cold metal through his performance shoes, which were kind of like jazz shoes, to compare. The line wasn't gold, instead, it was red, indicating the highest height. From here, Hinata looked like a small splotch on the expanse of seats. But Kageyama had good vision, and could tell that Hinata was watching his every move.

He lined his toes up with the edge. Flared his wings. Raised his arms high above his head. And jumped.

Kageyama heard them all cheering, Hinata's high-pitched yelling standing out just a bit more than others.

"Yeah, Yama-Kun!"

"Black Lightning!" Mei shouted, from somewhere below him.

He opened his eyes, and was falling at an alarmingly fast rate. On the seventy-five, count to ten.

Five...

Six...

Seven...

Eight...

Nine...

Ten...

The ground was inches away from his nose. Kageyama snapped his wings open, pulling upwards away from the floor. The small crowd roared, making surprisingly a lot of noise for such a tiny amount of people.

"Go, Kageyama!"

He reached the ending line all too soon, and dejectedly folded his wings in. It was always like this when he hit the ground. If Kageyama had things his way, which he rarely did, he would have stayed in the air forever.

Kageyama glanced up at Takito. "How was that?"

"It was..." Takito looked at her notes. "Better."

"What do you mean, better?" He asked, soaring up into the stands. Mei was sitting next to Yamaguchi, who, once again, had shut his laptop cover.

Takito shrugged. "Nine and a quarter?"

"What's your best, Kageyama-kun?" Hinata asked.

Kageyama thought back to all his scores in the past year. "A ten."

"A PERFECT TEN?" Takito jumped up. "Holy cow! What was the total?"

That was at last year's Nationals, his first. "Um... I think it was a 91?"

"That's good," Hinata mused. "Really good."

Kageyama felt a rush of pride. "Okay, thanks, Hinata."

"Oi, Yama -kun!" Mei prodded him in the side, making him swat Mei in response. "We have to practice our routine! Our coach is coming soon, I think."

"You guys have a routine? Duals, right?" Takito asked.

"Duals." Mei-Lee confirmed.

Takito frowned. "Acro? Synchro? Stunt?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Hinata said. "Can someone explain?"

Mei opened her mouth but Kageyama beat her to it.

"So for our performance class, U20 or Junior, there are three main events. Group routine, which is all of your team doing one routine, then there's Duals, which are two people. It's sorted into three categories. Synchro, where you aim to be the most in-sync. Acro is acrobatics, so form is important. Stunts are things like flips, dives and rolls. Then, last, there are Solo acts, sorted into the same sections. Minus synchro, of course. In the older groups, the Master class, there are Duo and Stunt dives as well as Speed trials."

Hinata nodded slowly, and Kageyama could see his eyes narrow, deep in thought.

Takito poked Kageyama in the chest.

 _Why is everyone poking me today?_

"So what is your Dual?" Takito asked.

"Well," Kageyama explained. "We're preforming it under Karasuno Junior Class, so it doesn't have a sub-category. Only U20 and above have subs."

"YOU'RE WHAT?"

Kageyama sighed. "Karasuno's coach choreographed it. So it had to be junior. I'm only in the U20s for dives. Junior doesn't have them."

Mei hopped over the edge of the railing, swooping up to the 20 meter platform. Kageyama followed.

"Takito? Can you find some way to get the stadium speakers to play our music?" Mei called down, wind snatching at her red-streaked hair.

There was a pause, and a few minutes later, a loud and angry heavy metal song started to play.

"Whoops! Wrong song!"

The track changed to a softer song, called Thunder and Lightning. A perfect name, Yamaguchi liked to say.

The song tells a story, Coach Shen would say. It's the beginning. You are the beginning.

Mei leapt off the platform, entering the performance zone first. Kageyama would wait for Mei to do her first combo move, then swoop in.

The music reached a particularly dark and deep note.

The world is new here, Shen would explain. Everything is growing. But Thunder and Lightning want Beginning to meet the End.

This song is the End.

Mei soared into a complex pattern of spins and twists, shooting high into the sky. Kageyama took off, flying above Mei. She reached up, and he grabbed her wrists.

This is the beginning of the End, Shen points out here.

They fell in slow motion together, and split when they reached the ground. The music picked up in pace, and the duo twisted around each other, wings brushing and making an incredible blur of red and black.

The music began to fade, signaling the end of the routine, and Kageyama managed a fancy flip into their ending pose, a spectacular spread eagle with Mei above him, stretching her wings into an upwards U.

A sudden, familiar voice from below startled Kageyama, and they fell out of their ending pose.

"Good, good. I think that was one of the best we've seen so far!" Kageyama's coach, Shen, was in the stands, standing up on one of the seats.

The duo flew over. "Coach Shen? When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago. I helped Takito set up the music." He smiled.

The name Coach Shen sounded very severe, but really, Shen was a young man, just a day over 26, who had soft brown eyes and soft brown hair. He was small for his age, and was often quiet when there was no need to yell.

His wings were also small, which Kageyama thought might inspire Hinata. Shen's wings, magpie wings, were on the smaller side but still had excellent statistics. Shen had performed in the Nationals every year since he was sixteen, medaling every year, until an injury had put him out of commission.

Shen clapped his hands, signaling for Kageyama to turn around. He did. "Your costume is amazing..." He noted. "And your braces... Are they modded?"

Takito nodded proudly. "By no one other than Mitaichi Takito."

"Alright," Shen nodded. "I trust Kageyama won't explode mid-flight with these braces?"

She laughed. "Pretty sure."

Shen and Takito had always had a pretty good relationship. Shen had been a regular customer at the shop until he was decommissioned, and he was the first to teach Takito about the Nationals and how to apply for the brace mod permits.

"Okay, so what would our routine score be?" Mei asked eagerly.

Shen thought for a moment, shaking out his light brown hair. "Um... 94.2 plus this... yeah. 143.5! That's the second best!"

The highest score you could get in a Duo Competition Junior Class was 150. And a perfect score was rare. So, anything in the 140's is considered excellent. Mei and Kageyama's best score so far was 144.

"Argh. So close," Mei commented. "We were half a point away!"

"What did we do wrong?" Kageyama asked.

Coach Shen took a deep breath. "It's not what you did wrong, but what you didn't do."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Kageyama questioned, confused.

"Well, this may sound dramatic, but," Shen crossed his arms. "You need to put more emotion into your routine."

Mei frowned. "So, like, make it more dramatic?" She flicked her wings.

"Yeah. Try to feel the music, what the composer is trying to tell you!" Shen nodded.

How do I make a piece more dramatic?

"You said the story of this piece was the Beginning of the End," Kageyama explained. "So, what are we supposed to do?"

Hinata poked his head out from over the laptop. "It's like, apocalyptic? I don't know..."

Coach Shen snapped his fingers. "Exactly! The small guy has it right!"

Kageyama snorted. "The small guy?"

"Anyways," Mei sighed. "So, we have to act like the apocalypse is tomorrow?"

Shen smiled. "Nope! You are the apocalypse."

"Okay...?" Kageyama didn't know what to make of that statement.

"Put it this way," Coach Shen grinned. "Close your eyes and imagine. There is no wrong answer."

"Alright." Said Hinata, Mei, and Kageyama all at once.

"Imagine," Shen continued.

"This song, it's the Beginning. And you, you are the End."


	6. Chapter 6 - Second Flight

"Alright guys, fly a cool-down lap. That's more than enough for today." Coach Shen was sitting on the twenty-meter platform, watching Kageyama and Mei run their routines.

Kageyama gasped for breath. The only break he got was when Mei had to work on her routine, and since that was almost perfect, the break wasn't long. He was burning hot even though it was freezing outside. Kageyama wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his costume, the sparkly material scratchy on his skin.

Mei began gliding around the stadium, holding her hands in front of her to stay streamlined. Kageyama followed, glancing over at Hinata, Yamaguchi, and Takito.

They had finished their essay, and were now watching Mei and Kageyama fly. Hinata was in awe at how much you could do when you could fly, and he whipped his head back and forth, watching them. His messy orange hair bobbed in the slight breeze. Yamaguchi and Takito were discussing who would present the essay on Monday, Takito keeping one eye on her judge's notes.

He soared upwards, catching a tiny warm current of air, and that boosted him well above the 45-meter platform. Kageyama extended his wings fully, feeling the braces align and hold them back. He dipped back down into a small dive, coming up just above Mei. Mei looked up and grinned. She was tired, but would never show that.

After about five or so laps, Kageyama landed, stretching his legs and arms to make sure he wouldn't be too sore tomorrow. Mei followed, arching down into the splits.

"How do you do that?" Takito called from above.

Mei looked up. "What? You mean, the splits?"

"Yeah!" Takito hopped out of the stands, gliding down next to them. "The splits? Doesn't it hurt?"

"Well, you take one foot, and you stretch it forward until it's straight on the ground. Your other leg should follow if you're doing it right." Mei explained, switching legs.

Takito frowned. "No, I mean, I'm not flexible at all. I could never do... that..."

"I've never seen you try," Kageyama pointed out. "How about you try?"

Takito shook her head. "No way, man. I'm wearing jeans! Not some stretchy get-up like you guys are!"

"You should try," Mei hoisted herself up from the ground, brushing off her legs. "Maybe you're secretly flexible."

Coach Shen dove off the twenty and swooped over to the young trio.

"What are we talking about?"

"Takito doesn't want to do the splits!" Mei teased.

"The splits?" Shen frowned. "I don't even think I can!"

He lowered himself down halfway, Mei laughing so hard even her wings shook.

"See? I can't do it..." He declared, then slipped and fell into the splits.

Takito snorted. "Maybe you can."

"Yeah, maybe I can. Ow." Shen got up, shaking out his brown wings. "Do you guys want to go get ice cream or something? As a treat for getting a near perfect score today?"

"Only if Hinata can come!" Kageyama blurted out suddenly.

Coach Shen shrugged. "Alright, the small guy can come."

"Dude," Takito poked Kageyama again. "It's so cold outside. Why would you want ice cream?"

Hinata leapt down from the stands, Yamaguchi following close behind.

"We could get hot fudge sundaes! I hear there's a good place near here." Hinata answered.

Yamaguchi shouldered his bag. "Alright then, let's go!" He jumped up into the sky, spreading his wings.

Everyone followed except for Hinata, who stayed glued to the sandy floor of the stadium.

"What's wrong, Small Guy?" Coach Shen asked, flaring his tawny wings out. "Are you lactose-intolerant or something?"

Kageyama gulped.

He doesn't want to fly!

Kageyama glanced at Shen and declared, "I'll carry him." He dove down and grabbed Hinata's outstretched arms.

"Hinata's just tired." Kageyama added.

Hinata smiled up at Kageyama. "Thanks." He whispered.

They swooped through the sky, chatting and talking about life. Yamaguchi and Mei flew next to each other, and Takito flew next to Shen, discussing brace models.

"I'm going to fly," Hinata suddenly declared. "I have to show them."

Kageyama almost dropped him in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. I have to." His golden eyes were steely with determination.

"If you say so," Kageyama soared higher, ready to drop Hinata again. "On the count of three."

"One," They whispered together. "Two... three."

Hinata let go, and Kageyama watched him fall, panicking.

Great, Kageyama thought. Hinata's going to get himself killed, and I'll get sued.

Hinata flapped his wings, falling below the group. Kageyama tried not to scream. Suddenly, he shot upwards, gliding in beside Takito, who almost smashed into Shen in surprise.

Kageyama dove back down. He swooped in beside Hinata, who was pumping his wings so fast they were a blur.

"I'm... doing... it!" He said between gasps for breath.

Kageyama nodded, filled with pride. "You are." He inexplicably reached over and held Hinata's hand. It was warm.

Shen pointed out the brightly colored ice cream shop, and they all dipped down towards it. Kageyama helped guide Hinata into a proper descent, making sure he never let go of him, ever.

They all landed near the doors of the ice cream shop. A small girl with her older brother bounded out excitedly, holding a cup of hot chocolate. Her wings fluttered excitedly, and the older boy grabbed her hand. They walked down the road together.

That reminds me of Natsu, Kageyama thought. Some people just have so much energy, all the time.

Takito pushed open the door, gesturing all of them inside dramatically. The shop was vintage, with classic 50's decor, complete with a retro soda fountain and the special, faux leather booths and stools. The cashier almost did a double take at three nationals competitors entering her shop, but managed to keep her cool.

It wasn't that noticeable, but all of the group besides Shen and Kageyama kept shooting strange glances over at Hinata. Kageyama guessed it was something along the lines of,

I didn't know Hinata could fly!

Yamaguchi hopped onto one of the stools and stared at the menu.

"What are you getting, Mei?" He asked.

Mei pulled out her wallet, extracting a ten-dollar bill. Sundaes were five dollars each. "Something tastier than whatever you're getting."

"Oh no!" Hinata tugged on Kageyama's sleeve. "I didn't bring my money!"

"It's fine," Kageyama assured. "I'll pay for yours."

"Really? Thanks, Yama-kun."

Takito handed five dollars over the counter to the cashier, a hawk-winged girl who couldn't have been any older than Kageyama. She returned with a caramel sundae in her hands.

"Look what I got!" She twirled around, landing in the seat next to Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi was holding a chocolate sundae, posting a photo of it on the internet.

Takito shoved hers next to him. "Hey, let's do a collab!"

Yamaguchi grinned and continued taking photos with his galaxy-patterned phone case.

Shen got a pecan-crunch sundae and sat down on the other side of Yamaguchi.

"Which one should I get?" Kageyama asked Hinata, who was peering at the menu.

Hinata shrugged. "You pick."

"Umm..." Kageyama looked over the menu of hot sundaes. "How about... apple cinnamon?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Hinata grinned.

Kageyama pulled five dollars out of his bag, handing it to the cashier, who tried her best not to ask about the eyeliner, the costume, or the fact that he, the famed Tobio Kageyama was buying ice cream.

The girl took it. "What will it be for you today?"

"Ah... Apple Cinnamon sundae." Kageyama answered.

She grabbed a sundae cup. "And for you?" She asked Hinata.

Hinata blushed. "Um... we're sharing."

Kageyama almost groaned.

Great, Hinata. Just great.

Kageyama took his (their) food from the girl, glaring at Hinata.

"What did you do that for?" He growled.

Hinata shrugged innocently. "You only had seven dollars in your wallet. There wouldn't be enough."

"Fine, whatever. Get a seat."

Kageyama slid into a chair, grabbing an extra spoon from the canister on the counter. Hinata took the spoon from Kageyama, poised to take a huge scoop.

"Hey! Wait! I bought it. I get first scoop!" He argued.

Hinata pouted. "No fair! Does it really matter?"

"Yes," Kageyama answered, gripping his spoon. "It does."

"Fine then! How about we both take a scoop at the same time?!" Hinata poked Kageyama in the side.

They both stabbed their spoons into the ice cream at the same time.

"There!" Kageyama declared. "Happy now?"

Hinata looked up from an empty spoon, a dot of caramel sauce on his nose. "Yeah!"

"You have food on your face," Kageyama commented, eating his scoop of ice cream. "Let me get it off."

Hinata blinked. Kageyama reached over, wiping the caramel off with his finger. A soft click behind them startled the duo. It was Takito, on her phone.

"Hi, guys. That made a great photo." She showed them the photo of him booping Hinata on the nose, Hinata laughing and Kageyama smiling.

Hinata smiled. "Yeah, it does! Can you send it to me?"

"Sure. Yama-kun, do you want me to send it to you?" Takito nodded.

Kageyama looked at the photo. "No, it's fine. Hinata will probably spam me with it later."

The truth was, Kageyama was actually pretty embarrassed by that photo. Takito was a good photographer, but she had a talent for taking... stealth photos. That's how she got good pictures of animals. She'd sneak up on them then wait for the perfect moment.

They soon finished the sundae, and Kageyama slid the bowl down the counter to Yamaguchi, who placed it in the dish bin.

Hinata went off to the washroom, and Takito handed Kageyama a five dollar bill.

"What was that for?" He asked, taking the money.

Takito sighed. "I was betting that Hinata couldn't fly since I was ten, and I promised five dollars to whoever helped him if it ever happened. I didn't know he could fly! I'm so proud of him!"

"Alright," Kageyama frowned. "That's a weird bet..."

Yamaguchi laughed. "You're the one to talk. Don't forget you and Mei's corn-on-the-cob bet. That was hilarious."

"What happened?" Takito asked.

Shen answered for Kageyama. "Last year's nationals, Kageyama bet Mei that she couldn't eat more than three ears of corn. After the competition, she bought seven and ate them all. He lost fifty dollars."

"It's true," Mei confirmed. "I still remember how loud my mom yelled. 'You're going to get fat, now!'"

Yamaguchi nodded. "I heard it all the way from the backyard."

Kageyama opened his wallet to put Takito's five dollars inside, but stopped. Sitting in plain sight, right in the middle of the pocket in the wallet, was a clearly visible ten dollar bill.

"Hinata!" He yelled in anger... or excitement.

Hinata came back from the washroom. "Yeah?" Kageyama could tell he wasn't trying to look at the wallet, but he had briefly flicked his eyes towards the black pouch, and that was all Kageyama needed to know.

"Nothing... just wondering where you were." He covered, blushing.

Hinata smiled. "Sure, Yama-kun."

Tsuki stood on the front lawn, watching Hinata stretch his wings out wide.

"Watch me, Tsuki!" Hinata called.

"I am," Tsuki sighed. "What are you going to do anyways?"

Hinata hopped up and down excitedly. "Just watch! You'll see!"

"Okay, whatever. Make it quick. I have stuff to do."

"Alright!" Hinata backed up a few feet, then took a running start, flaring his wings out.

He leapt upwards, beating his wings frantically. The air caught his wings, and he rose slowly up into the sky, until Tsuki looked like a toy figure below him.

I'm doing it!

Hinata dropped suddenly, and he snapped his wings open, causing him to jerk upwards clumsily.

Okay... maybe not.

The winds picked up, and Hinata was tossed around by the buffs. He angled himself downwards.

I better come down...

He plummeted towards the ground, heart pounding. Tsuki was grinning, something he almost never did. Hinata's feet touched the frosty ground, and his heart sank with disappointment. It was always like this when he landed.

If he had it his way, he would stay in the air forever.

"See, Tsuki! I told you it would be cool!" Hinata beamed with pride.

Tsuki hugged Hinata. "I didn't know... you could fly! I'm proud of you. You'll have to show Kichimiri now..."

They broke apart, grinning.

Ever since the trip to the ice cream parlour, Hinata hadn't felt bad about his wings, and he even had shown the others that he could fly. That was pretty epic.

Hinata had to give credit to Kageyama this time. Kageyama had helped Hinata so much, even though their friendship had kind of cracked early on.

Tsuki leaned on Hinata's shoulder with a bony elbow, something Hinata would never be able to do with his short height.

"Hey, Hinata. Now that you can fly, you'll be able to impress all the girls at school with your super-rare raven wings."

Hinata thought about all the second-years fangirling over Kageyama's wings.

"There's no one I need to impress, Tsuki..."

Besides Kageyama, he thought.

Tsukishima snorted. "Sure. What about that girl in your English class, Mitaichi?"

"Takito's just a friend!" Hinata protested. "Besides, she'd punch me in the face if I did so much as try to hug her."

"Anyways, Hinata. I do really have to go, so I'll see you at school." Tsuki grabbed his bag off the ground and took off into the sky, fluttering his hummingbird wings in graceful figure eights.

He watched Tsuki soar into the open air until he disappeared over the rooftops. Hinata looked over his shoulder. The door to the house still hung wide open and he could see Natsu inside on her iPad, playing Neko Atsume, her favourite game.

Hinata stepped back inside, shutting the door behind him silently. Natsu hated to be disturbed when she was playing Neko Atsume . She said it needed to be 'Absolutely quiet so the cats will come.'

However, contrary to the 'being quiet' rule, Hinata's phone rang, causing Natsu to squeal in surprise.

"Hinata! Your phone is ringing!" She hopped off the kitchen counter, wings fluttering happily.

Hinata ran over to Natsu. "Who's calling?"

"It's... um..." She glanced at the phone in her hand. "It's your boyfriend, Hinata!"

Hinata gasped and grabbed his phone from his younger sister. "For the sixty-ninth time, Natsu. Kageyama is not my boyfriend!"

Natsu stuck her small pink tongue out. "Yama-kun says otherwise!"

"What?" Hinata blushed. "Are you serious!?" The phone kept ringing in his hands.

Natsu giggled. "No way. I just wanted to see how you would react."

Hinata glared at her, then answered his phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Hinata," It really was Kageyama. "What took you so long to answer?"

"Natsu was playing Neko Atsume." Hinata answered, sinking into the couch by the television.

Kageyama snorted. "Doesn't Kenma Kozume play Neko?"

"Well, I don't know," He shrugged. "Kenma plays a lot of games."

"True. Anyways, Hinata, I have something to ask you..."

Hinata's heart and wings twitched. "Yeah?"

Kageyama cleared his throat. "Well, you know how Takito's shop is sponsoring me?"

"No," Hinata actually didn't know you could have sponsors for the Nationals. "But, okay?"

"We were thinking, Takito has extra tickets to give away. We can get you in for free." Kageyama explained.

Hinata blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah... I mean, we could get tickets for Natsu and your parents, too, I guess, if you wanted to."

"No, no, it's not that," He replied. "It's just... tickets are expensive! Do I have to pay you or anything?"

Kageyama sighed. "Well, since I managed to save money buying ice cream yesterday, Hinata..."

"Yeah..." Hinata blushed, again. "About that..."

"Okay, I'm sure you didn't see the other money I had in my wallet. It's fine."

Hinata actually did see that money. He just... well...

Why did I do that, again? Maybe I was just crazy from flying all the sudden. No idea.

"Hey, Kageyama? Do you still have your eyeliner on? And how did you get that, anyways?"

Kageyama sighed. "To answer your second question, it was Takito. I still have it on, but not my costume. Mei says I might spill something on it then ruin 'such a pretty article of clothing'." He chuckled.

"Oh, okay." Hinata smiled.

Natsu yelled something from her room over to Hinata.

"Hey, Hinata! Can you ask Yama-kun how to get another rare cat in Neko Atsume?"

"I don't think Kageyama plays that game, Natsu!" He shouted back.

"Sure he does!" Natsu declared. "Everyone does!"

"Not me!" Hinata retorted.

"Well I'm sure he does!" She retorted.

Hinata shot back, "No, he doesn't!"

"How would you know?"

"Good point," Hinata snapped. "But does it seem like Kageyama to play Neko Atsume, a game where you collect cats!?"

"You don't collect cats! You attract cats!" Natsu explained impatiently.

Hinata sighed. "Fine! Attract cats! But Kageyama doesn't play Neko!"

Kageyama interrupted their yelling match. "Actually, I do."

"Wait, what?" Hinata almost fell off the couch.

"Yeah," He responded. "What cat does she want?"

Hinata had no idea how this game worked. "Um... just a rare one, I guess."

"A rare one, huh? Tell Natsu to try using a watermelon ball with a large box. Last time I checked, that worked."

"Um... what?" Hinata was perplexed.

Large box? Watermelon balls? What even is this game?

Kageyama laughed. "You really should play Neko Atsume. I think you'd like it."

"Yeah," Hinata sighed. "Okay, whatever, Kageyama."

"Well, I have to go!" Kageyama announced.

Hinata was dejected. "Why?"

"Coach Shen wants an emergency meeting about my Solo act," He explained. "I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Bye, Kageyama-kun!"

"Goodbye, Hinata."

Hinata set his phone down on the table by the television. He stretched his wings, leaning forward on the couch.

Natsu thudded down the stairs. "So?"

"So, what?" He leapt off the couch, turning to face Natsu.

Natsu put her hands on her hips. "What did Yama-kun say about rare cats in Neko Atsume?"

"Well," Hinata explained. "He said a watermelon ball and a... large box?"

She grabbed her tablet again, and tapped at it happily. "See! Told you he plays Neko!"

"Whatever. Did it work?"

"Silly Hinata," Natsu shook her head. "You have to wait. It takes a while for the cats to come. And you really should get Neko Atsume! It's fun! And you could play with Kageyama!"

Hinata walked over to the fridge, opening it and scanning its contents for edible food. "Okay, sure. I have to make dinner. What do you want?"

"Chocolate! Like I said, Daichi-san gave me chocolate!" Natsu announced proudly.

Hinata sighed.

I'm going to have to talk to Daichi about that...

"No chocolate. Want katsudon? We have leftovers."

She ignored him, running laps around the kitchen. "Daichi can't give me chocolate, I guess."

"Why?" Hinata pulled out the bowl of rice and pork cutlets from the night before, along with a plate of meat buns. That was probably a bad question to ask, though.

Natsu grabbed the plate and slid it into the microwave. "He's out with Suga tonight!"

"Wait, what?" Hinata asked, dumping the katsudon into a bowl. "Kōshi Sugawara?"

"Yeah! The third year?" She ruffled her wings out, hopping onto the kitchen stool.

Hinata blinked. "Let me get this straight... Daichi's going out with Suga?"

"No, stupid!" Natsu giggled. "They're out with their friends. You know, Asahi, Noya, Tanaka and Ennoshita! It's not like that!"

There was a pause, accented by the hum of the microwave.

"I think." She added thoughtfully.

The microwave beeped, and Hinata pulled out the plate, sliding it down the counter to Natsu. "It's hot. Be careful."

"Okay."

Hinata scooped some katsudon out for Natsu into her favorite bowl, the one she had dropped a few days ago, then grabbed some for himself.

"Be right back. I have to do something."

He stepped out of the kitchen, grabbed his phone, and ducked into the washroom. Once he was inside, he opened it up.

And downloaded Neko Atsume.


	7. Chapter 7 - Broken Paths

Hinata shoved everything in his bag and ran down the school hallway, heart pounding. The other Karasuno students were on their way to the lunchroom. They looked at him curiously as he sprinted through the halls.

Word that he could fly had gotten out to everyone. Once Takito had announced that to Nodono Chiayi, the news spread like a wildfire. Kichimiri even avoided Hinata for a while.

He skidded around the corner into the second year's class. And slammed right into Kageyama, who was just coming out of his class.

"Hinata?" Kageyama stepped back.

Hinata blinked. "Hi, Kageyama-kun!"

The older boy narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing at the other end of the school?"

"Um, well," Hinata reached into his bag and pulled out a brown paper bag. "I made you food."

Kageyama took the bag from Hinata and glanced inside, black wings twitching with curiousity. "Oh. Meat buns..."

Hinata nodded politely. "Are we eating lunch together today?"

Kageyama sighed. His wings sagged. "No, I have to do something. Maybe you can eat with Takito today?"

"But..." His heart sank, and Hinata's wings drooped. "But you said..."

"Well, get over it." Kageyama snapped, making Hinata jump.

Kageyama glanced over at Hinata, who was staring at the ground. "Okay, I didn't mean it like that... sorry... I'm just really stressed right now. The Nationals are in a day."

Hinata sighed, bringing his gaze back up to Kageyama. "Yeah, okay. I'll just go find Takito. She's probably outside."

He turned his back on Kageyama and pushed through the door to the schoolyard, blinking in the bright sunlight. Most students would eat their lunch really fast, then rush to play outside.

There was one outdoor volleyball court. Hinata knew he would find Takito there. He jogged over to the court, watching the two teams face off against each other.

Daichi and Suga were on one team, with Tsukki and Yamaguchi on another. Some other students Hinata didn't know were playing, too. Hinata shook out his wings, watching for Takito. She would always conceal herself right against the net then pop out for a quick spike for an easy point.

Daichi passed the ball to Suga, and Suga set the ball high, swan's wings flaring open wide. Another student feinted a spike. Tsukki jumped high in the air, blocking. But the ball soared over the decoy's head, and Takito sprung out from her hiding place, leaping high into the air to slam the ball to the ground. Her wings cast an amazing shadow on the ground, a silhouette of feathers and flight.

Hinata squinted, analyzing Takito's form and technique. It seemed a bit off today...

 _Why'd she hit it with her left hand?_

The ball sped past Yamaguchi's receive, and thudded to the ground. A straight attack. Her team cheered.

 _I guess she still scored._

Takito spotted Hinata and bounded over.

"Hey, Sho-chan!" She waved.

Hinata grinned. "Hey, Takito."

She nodded politely, singling to Daichi and Suga to give her a minute. "I have something to show you..." Takito held up her right wrist, and Hinata gasped.

Takito's wrist was encased in a cast, which was already signed by some classmates in her other classes.

"WHAT?" He looked again, just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "How?"

Takito sighed. "Guess."

"Volleyball," Hinata responded. "You were playing libero."

She nodded. "You know me too well. I tripped, tried to break my fall with a roll, and next thing you know. Bam. Instant visit to the hospital. But, yeah, this sucks."

"Wait..." A realization struck Hinata. "You're Kageyama's technician! How are you gonna do his braces?"

A dark mask fell over Takito's face, and clouded her eyes with worry. That rarely happened, and seeing Takito like that made Hinata scared.

"Ah. I have no idea. But I'll have to manage, right?" The cloud vanished, and Takito seemed like she was back to her normal self. But Hinata knew better. She ran back over to the volleyball game, grabbing the ball to serve. Hinata sighed. He was worried for how the Nationals were going to go, with her injury.

The painful image of Takito struggling to tune braces while Kageyama had to forfeit because the equipment wasn't at legal standards crossed his mind and Hinata shook his head, trying to push it out of his head.

"I can't let this happen..." He muttered to no one in particular.

A voice sounded at his side. "Can't let what happen?" It was Nishinoya.

Noya fluttered his sparrow wings, staring straight at Hinata. Hinata didn't know Nishinoya very well, as they were in totally different classes. But Hinata saw Noya as a person to look up to. They shared a common passion for volleyball, and both loved to complain about being short and small.

"Oh, hey Noya-san." Hinata turned to face Karasuno's libero.

Nishinoya grinned. "Hey! Anyways, what can't you let happen?"

"Um, well," Hinata murmured. "Takito broke her wrist. But she has to do stuff for the Nationals, and I'm kind of scared she's not going to be able to..."

Noya frowned, thinking. "Well, breaking anything really sucks. I know that for a fact. I don't think you need to worry, though."

"Why?" Hinata shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, trying to keep them warm.

"Takito is a very... innovative person." He explained. "She can find a way around any obstacle, especially if it's her challenge to face herself."

Hinata nodded. "Okay... But if something goes wrong, Takito will blame herself, and she'll shoulder all the burdens on herself. I don't want that to happen."

Nishinoya sighed. "Well, that's gonna be a hard one. Maybe you could help out?"

"No," Hinata shook his head and wings. "She would want to do everything herself."

"Oh." Nishinoya smacked Hinata on the back. "Anyways, I think I see Kiyoko. I'll see you around, Shōyō." He strode off, marching towards the magpie-winged third-year.

Hinata ruffled his wings hopelessly and turned to walk back inside the school, but not before he felt a big hand rest on his shoulder.

"Is it true?"

He whipped around. Kichimiri. With a volleyball-sized print on his face. Hinata jumped in fear.

"What happened to your face...?" He said tentatively.

Kichimiri ignored the question. "Is it really true?"

"What?..." Hinata blinked. "Is what true?"

The eagle-winged boy slapped the back of Hinata's head.

"You know what I'm talking about."

 _But I don't..._

"I really- Oh. Wait. Yeah, it's true." Hinata rubbed the back of his head, wincing. Fortunately for him, Kichimiri was being quite nice today. Maybe it was the weather.

Kichimiri stopped. And a cruel grin spread slowly across his face. "Alright. Can you show me, Hinata?"

"Ah. Um..." He tried to think of some smart excuse. Hinata gulped nervously, raising his wings out in a defensive position.

"Do I have to repeat myself?" Kichimiri stepped forward, flaring his wings out wide. "Can you show me, Hinata?" There was a deadly edge to his voice.

Hinata brought his wings further around him, looking around. A small crowd had gathered. They watched with a look of concern, but no one really would stand up to Kichimiri. The volleyball game was forgotten and Takito rushed over, pushing her small frame between him and Kichimiri. Her wings were spread in anger. Or fear?

"Hey, hey, hey... What are we doing?" She shot a testing glare at Kichimiri.

Hinata pushed Takito to the side. "Takito, stay out of this. I'm gonna show him I can fly. It's my only chance."

But she stuck her chin out defiantly, standing between the two boys.

"No." She turned to Kichimiri. Her wings were flared out wide, putting a strong, feathered wall between Hinata and the bully.

"Oi, eagle-face. I don't know what you're doing to Hinata here, but quit it."

Kichimiri smiled, showing crooked teeth. "Oh, really. Why are you standing up for him?"

She ignored the question, pointing a slender finger at Kichimiri's face.

"Oh, really. If I can remember correctly, just seven minutes ago, you had one of my serves slammed into your face. Am I right?"

"Y-you... I-I-I..." He stammered. "That... well, you made a terrible mistake."

"You're a mistake." Takito shot back. She was a full head and a half shorter than Kichimiri, but her attitude and words made up for that in full. She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and strutted off.

"Show him how you fly, Hinata."

And with that, she slipped into the crowd and vanished.

Hinata spread his wings out wide. A surge of confidence ran through him. "Watch me, Kichimiri."

He crouched low, tension building up in him. The crowd moved back. Hinata took three thundering steps, flared his wings, and leapt into the sky.

A gust of wind immediately caught his wings and brought him higher, and Hinata fluttered his wings at such as speed they probably looked like a blur from here. He wasn't too high above the ground, and could probably still reach down and touch the volleyball net.

 _Do I really want to go higher?_

He really didn't have to answer that, as his wings inexplicably pushed out against the wind and boosted him well above the ground. From here, he could see the roof of the school.

Hinata heard some first-year students cheering from below, especially Yamaguchi and Takito. Kichimiri just stood there in shock. He tried to focus on flying in a straight line. It was amazing to be flying like this, proving a point against Kichimiri. His heart pounded with pure exhilaration.

Suddenly, a black streak soared by Hinata, causing him to veer sharply to the left. It was like that black streak was trying to knock him off balance.

 _Oh no... What if that's Kichimiri and he's gonna kick me out of the sky?_

He felt a little sick to his stomach. Hinata glanced back down to the ground, searching for Kichimiri's large frame. His wings flapped nervously.

 _Oh no..._

Something - someone - grabbed his arm.

"Hinata! What the heck are you doing?"

Hinata turned. It was Kageyama. His dark eyes were warm, but concerned.

"Kageyama!" He felt kind of relieved, but also strangely excited at the same time. "What are you doing...?"

He let go of Hinata's arm. Hinata was surprised at how dejected and empty he felt without Kageyama holding him. They both soared upwards, until the crowd below was nothing but a small dot on the view below them. Hinata was happier than ever, and he would fly like this forever. Next to Kageyama, proving the person that scared him wrong, and free in the sky.

"What are we doing?" They asked each other.

Kageyama smiled, shaking his head. He gave another powerful beat of his wings. "You proved him wrong, Hinata. You proved me wrong, to be honest."

"I proved them wrong..." Hinata echoed. The cold wind whipped at his face, and Hinata shivered. Kageyama really didn't seem to care that Hinata was freezing. The cold probably didn't bother him; he was used to flying like this.

Kageyama flew in a bit closer to Hinata.

"Yeah, you did. Now maybe we should come down and see that look on Kichimiri's face."

Hinata usually would never give in to gravity, but for once, it was deemed necessary to get a good photo of Kichimiri. Kageyama dipped down into a dive, and Hinata clumsily followed. Though he tried to practice flying as much as possible, he was afraid someone would comment on his blundering flight or messy technique.

Hinata had expressed his concerns to Kageyama in the form of a whiny phone call, but all Kageyama responded with was,

 _Why should you worry? It isn't the nationals._

Everything in Kageyama's life could be sorted into three things. Nationals, Volleyball, and Not Volleyball or the Nationals. Hinata wished his life could be that simple, or at least see things that simply.

A loud cheer broke him out of his thoughts. His feet touched the ground, and he saw Takito, Yamaguchi, and the other first years, along with Tanaka and Nishinoya, jumping up and down happily. Even Tsukki was excited. Barely.

Kageyama landed next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't doubt him, Kichimiri."

Kichimiri remained rooted to the spot, eyes wide in shock. Out of the corner of his eye, Hinata saw Yamaguchi take a photo. Tsukki was actually kind of smiling, too. And as usual, Takito was grinning so wide it seemed physically impossible.

Hinata stepped forwards, stretching his wings out to his maximum wingspan.

"Yeah, Kichimiri. Don't doubt me."

The class bell rang, and Hinata strode out of class feeling better than ever. Takito bounded out after him, wings bouncing up and down.

"Ahhh... Freedom... For a few minutes, at least." She skipped down the hall. Her wings were flapping energetically.

Hinata took a moment to shove all his homework into his bag. "Oh yeah... The Nationals..."

"Yup!" She ran back over to Hinata. "You're coming, right?"

He nodded. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Good. Because the whole world's gonna be there. Well, just the whole country. But that's gonna be a lot of people." Takito glanced at her broken wrist and sighed.

Hinata gulped. "Woah, woah, woah, Takito! Don't you worry about your cast! You're gonna get over it! Everything's going to be fine! You're going to be fine!" He expected Takito to lash back at him and say something snappy, but she just looked up and smiled.

"I know that," She said, voice quieter than ever. "I trust myself. Even with one hand."

Hinata grabbed Takito's wrist. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and signed it, as neatly as possible.

"For good luck." He murmured.

Kageyama stuck his head in between the duo. "What are we doing?"

"Hinata signed my cast," Takito explained. "Do you want to?" She shoved her arm into Kageyama's face, and Hinata handed him the pen.

The older boy stepped back. "Sure." He grasped the pen and wrote his name on the last inches of space on the cast.

"Tobio's giving out autographs, now?" A second year girl had come over to watch. Another of his fangirls.

Kageyama stiffened. There was probably only one word to describe how much he hated stuff like this, and that word wasn't a very polite thing to say at school.

Hinata saved him, though. "No, Kageyama-kun is not. He's signing Takito's cast."

The second-year, who Hinata thought was getting pretty annoying, narrowed her eyes. "Why does this lousy first year get an autograph from you, Kageyama?"

Kageyama clenched his jaw. "Like I said, it's not an autograph. And do you even know who Takito is to me?"

"Oh, Tobio-chan," The second-year giggled, which Hinata guessed was supposed to sound cute, but he thought it sounded weird.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend!"

Takito growled under her breath. "I'm not his girlfriend, stupid. I'm his brace technician. Kageyama doesn't have time for people to 'Kageyama-senpai!' him. Who do you think he is? Oikawa-san?"

 _Who's Oikawa-san? Another competitor?_

Kageyama flicked his eyes briefly over to Hinata before speaking. "Look. If it'll make you go away, take this."

He pulled a piece of paper out of Hinata's notebook and scribbled something onto it, handing it to the second-year.

The second-year squealed happily and ran off. They all sighed collectively.

Takito frowned. "That's a first."

"What's a first?" Hinata asked.

"Well, Kageyama never really gives people his signature," She explained, rubbing her wrist. "That's the first time that's happened."

"Actually, I didn't give her my autograph." Kageyama added.

Hinata turned to him, twitching his wings. "What? What'd you do, then?"

"Well, I just did some random scribble," Kageyama smiled, which was a bit unnerving. "I'd never give anyone my signature. Besides Takito."

"What? So I'm special, huh?" Takito grinned stupidly.

Hinata laughed. "Oooooooh, Kageyama!"

Kageyama shook his wings irritably. "Whatever. Remind me why I hang out with you first-years, again?"

"Because we're amazing?" He asked.

They broke down into another fit of laughter, which felt really weird for Kageyama.

The bell for next class rung, and they stood straight up.

"Ahh... Last class, and then we're free to go home and eat all the food we want..." Takito sighed blissfully.

"What class do you have, Kageyama?" Hinata asked, shouldering his bag and shaking out his wings.

Kageyama shrugged. "Math."

Takito gagged. "Ugh, math. Hinata, I think we have english. We have to turn in our essay."

"Great," Hinata sighed. "Did Yamaguchi edit it properly?"

"We can hope..." Takito strode off around the corner without even waiting for Hinata.

Kageyama picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the floor, and handed it to Hinata. "You dropped this."

"Thanks." He took it from Kageyama and shoved it into his bag, before running off to class.

"Wait for me, Takito!"

Takito was just opening the door to the classroom when Hinata came skidding in behind her.

"Hey, Hinata. What's the rush?"

Hinata slid into his seat and pulled out his bag, taking out a notebook and pencil. Yamaguchi sat next to him on his left, Takito on his right.

The other students were filing into class slowly, discussing their projects. Yamaguchi slid a stack of papers onto Hinata's desk. It was their essay, all typed neatly with all their names printed in blue ink at the top. The clean stack of papers even had a cover page.

"Why is your name first?" Hinata glared at Yamaguchi.

He shrugged, resting his wings on the side of the chair. "I dunno. Sorry. Go hand it in to the teacher."

Hinata stood up, grasping the papers firmly. Takito gave him a thumbs-up.

 _Good luck_ , she mouthed.

 _What? I'm just handing in an essay. It's not like I'm heading to my doom or anything._

The teacher stood up. "Alright, class. Hand in your essays, please."

There was a hustle to get papers straight, names down, and final touches made.

Hinata passed the essay package to the teacher, a little nervous. He always got this type of feeling when he handed in any assignment or exam. The teacher took the papers from Hinata and nodded in approval. He shuffled back to his seat feeling kind of sick.

"Oi, Hinata, what's with the face?" Takito glanced at him.

Hinata shrugged. "I don't know." He reached into his bag and pulled out the paper Kageyama had given him. And gasped.

This is Kageyama's math homework! Not my paper...

He turned the paper over, and on the back, a few words were scribbled in what was definitely the older boy's printing.

 _Meet me behind the outside of gym 1 after school._

What's that supposed to mean? He stuffed the paper into his bag before anyone could see.

The english teacher started talking and Hinata's brain switched off. He tried to pay attention, but paying attention was a completely unknown skill to his brain. His pencil dragged across the paper randomly, creating scratchy doodles, which turned into wings.

The wings took form of an angel. Hinata wanted to be an angel. It sounded kinda stupid, but honestly he would love to have huge, fluffy wings that were big and white. He sketched the angel's face, and just as a joke to show Kageyama later, he made the angel Kageyama, laughing to himself.

Hinata had been drawing wings ever since he could hold a pencil. From the day he drew his first shaky pair, that was all he wanted to draw. Once he found out his wings were too small, Hinata was always drawing himself with impossibly huge wings. It was somewhat of an escape from reality. Escapism.

Something hit him in the side of the head, and he sat up in his seat. Takito's eraser was lying on the desk below him.

"What was that for?"

She shrugged. "Class is over."

WHAT? That went by quick.

"Do we have any homework?" He asked, closing up his notebook and putting it in his bag.

Takito sighed. "Were you listening?"

"No..." He answered truthfully.

"We have homework," Yamaguchi confirmed. "We have to fill out the self-assessment form about our essay. I think we failed."

"Hey! Have some confidence in yourself, Yamaguchi-kun!" She smacked Yamaguchi on the shoulder.

"I'm confident we failed..." Yamaguchi sighed.

Takito glared at him. "You..."

Hinata left them to argue and hurried down the breezeway to the gym.

Why does Kageyama wanna meet me? Why? And for what?

He turned around the building and to the back of the school. Kageyama was already there, sitting against the wall with his brown bag beside him. Hinata reached into his blue bag and pulled out Kageyama's math homework.

"Kageyama!" He ran over, waving the paper around.

Kageyama stood up and took the paper from him. "Hinata."

"What are we doing?" Hinata asked, a little out of breath. "Why'd you tell me to come over here?"

They took a few steps closer to each other, closing the distance surprisingly fast. Now, inches apart, Kageyama looked up at the sky, folding his wings in.

"Hinata... There's something I have to tell you... About me... It's important."


	8. Chapter 8 - Sunset

Kageyama would probably look back on this moment later in life and laugh his face off, but right now, this was anything but funny. Everything he had planned to say to Hinata, everything he had rehearsed in his head during math class, everything. All of that had just gotten on the nearest train out of Miyagi.

"Um... Kageyama?" Hinata looked up at Kageyama with anticipation.

Kageyama shook his head. "Um..."

They both sighed. On an awkwardness scale of one to ten, this probably hit a 20.

Dammit.

Kageyama realized the only time the awkwardness scale had been past a seven was the time Takito was helping Hinata look for his water bottle, and Takito stormed into the second-year's classroom and yelled,

"Alright, listen up, idiots. If any of you have Hinata-kun's water bottle, hand it over before I shove it up your butt!"

Kageyama had bluntly muttered under his breath that,

He wouldn't mind that, actually.

And Takito had laughed her face off and bounded her way back down the hallway.

Right now, Hinata just stared up at Kageyama in a way that made him feel like running around and screaming.

Why are his eyes so shiny?

"Kageyama-kun! Whatcha gonna tell me?!"

He stiffened. "Um... I need my math homework back."

Hinata took no notice of this absolute lie and pulled it out of his bag, along with some other crinkled papers that had appeared to attach themselves through some form of food.

Kageyama took the lump from Hinata and peeled it apart, trying to dissect the papers as rip-free as possible. He held up the angel drawing with one raised eyebrow.

"Hinata, what the heck?"

Hinata blushed. "Sorry. I got bored in class. I was doodling."

"Great," Kageyama muttered, secretly pleased somehow. "Why an angel? I'm anything but an angel!"

"Um, well..." Hinata could object this point pretty easily. "Angels are cool! And you're cool?"

Why did he say like that a question?

"Oh. Thanks." Kageyama tried not to blush. It didn't work.

Hinata shrugged innocently. "Anyways, what do you actually have to tell me?"

Kageyama cursed under his breath.

The younger boy planted his hands on his hips. "Look here, Kageyama-kun. Whatever you have to tell me, I won't judge. I promise."

"You... you promise?" Kageyama shook out his wings anxiously.

Hinata grabbed Kageyama's wrists. "I promise."

Kageyama tensed up at Hinata's tight grip, but nodded.

"Wait!" Hinata stopped him. "I have a question."

I have a question.

Those four words freaked Kageyama out, for some reason. This question could be, well, anything. He hoped it was something worthwhile, or at least an interesting question. He also hoped it wasn't regarding schoolwork. Kageyama was the wrong person to talk to about that kind of stuff.

"Go ahead," Kageyama prompted, somewhat stiffly.

Hinata grinned, pleased. "Earlier, Takito-chan mentioned Oikawa-san. Who's that?"

Kageyama's brain withered at the thought of Oikawa.

"He's another Nationals competitor..." He explained.

Hinata snapped his fingers. "And you don't like him!"

"No! I mean, well, um..."

"You mean..."

Kageyama took a deep breath. "Oikawa was called the Great King. He ruled the junior and U20 categories. In fact, he still rules. His reign goes on."

"Woaaahhhh," Hinata was awestruck. "Oikawa does Dives?"

He nodded, before continuing. "Don't interrupt. This is a long story. Now, as I was saying, The Great King still rules the arena. His calm sense and crazy skill shut out my natural talent. He's not a prodigy like some call me. But his attitude towards the Nationals bring him high above me. I don't want to admit he's better than me, but my heart knows. You'll see him on Friday. He's the champion, right now."

"But then how are you connected to him?" Hinata inquired.

Kageyama sighed. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yeah!"

"We went to the same middle school. Oikawa was a third year when I was there. And he was amazing. But this was only the start. I saw him early one morning, practicing dives. And I was awestruck. The dive I saw him do wouldn't have placed him in the Nationals, or even the school team. But it was on that day I chose to pursue that forever, no matter how hard I had to train or what effort I had to put in. That day at home, I begged my parents to find me a coach, but they refused. I became bitter and cold. I mean, more bitter than I usually am. I went to Oikawa and pleaded with him to teach me. The thing you have to understand though, is that at this time, Oikawa wasn't the cool and collected person he is today. He was insane. He wanted to be the best. Just like I did. After six months, I proved myself full of natural talent. We trained together. Oikawa and I often would stay up past midnight at school, leaping off the one diving platform they had like there was no tomorrow. Eventually, my parents gave into my pleas and got me a coach. My first coach. Not Shen."

"You had another coach before Shen?" Hinata frowned. "Oh."

"Yeah, I had another coach. I don't really want to talk about that..."

Hinata smiled. "Okay. Well, what do you have to tell me?"

"Um... Oikawa... Well... I'm..." Kageyama stammered, not sure what to say.

Why is it so hard to say words? I've said at least ten thousand words in my life. And now, I can't even say a sentence!

"I'm... Um... Well... It's, um, well," He said, frantic, wings flailing.

Hinata watched patiently, not sure what to do. "Um, Kageyama-kun, does this have to do with Oikawa?"

"Yes- I mean, no!," Kageyama muttered. "Well, not really, but, um..."

Hinata snapped his fingers. "I got it! Don't worry, it's fine."

"What?" Kageyama blinked and shut his mouth.

"Aw, Kageyama, don't feel bad about it..." Hinata reassured.

How does he even know what I just said? I said... nothing...?

Kageyama frowned. "Do you even know what I'm talking about?"

"Yeah..." Hinata clasped his hands together nervously. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but... You're in love with Oikawa-san?"

Kageyama almost screamed. "I'm WHAT?"

"You're.. In love... With Oikawa...?" Hinata repeated, uncertain.

Kageyama grabbed Hinata's arm and tugged him out of the way. "I'm not in love with Oikawa! Where the heck did you get that idea!?"

Hinata stared up at Kageyama, who's cheeks were painted a bright red. "You sound like you are, though."

"I DON'T SOUND LIKE I'M IN LOVE!" Kageyama screamed. Hinata stepped back cautiously, wings raised around him protectively.

He sighed. "Sorry for yelling. But answer me on this one question. How does someone 'sound' like they're in love?"

"Well, first," Hinata put his hands on his hips. "You talk about someone, like, a lot. You launched into a full story about Oikawa-san. Second, you're blushing-"

"I'm not blushing!" Kageyama retorted, before realizing that this probably wasn't true.

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Anyways, third, you can't even look at me properly."

He realized this was true. "Well, that is true, but, um, it's because your eyes are creepy! Like, they're shiny, and round, and golden."

"And why would you know that?," Hinata smiled. "Is it because you... stare into my eyes dramatically? You spend so much time thinking about my creepy golden eyes?"

Accurate, Kageyama thought. A little too accurate...

"What are you suggesting, Hinata?" Kageyama asked, but he already knew.

"I need to tell you something now, Kageyama-kun..." Hinata looked at his feet. His wings were drooped in shame.

Kageyama looked down, too. "Alright, then, tell me."

"But it's embarrassing!" Hinata protested.

He sighed. "More embarrassing than thinking I was in love with Oikawa?"

"Yeah."

"Oh man..." Kageyama frowned. "That's gotta be pretty embarrassing, then."

"I'll just tell you. Don't hate me!" Hinata pleaded.

Kageyama shrugged. "It really depends what you're gonna tell me."

"So if I say Coach Shen sucks, will you hate me?"

"Well, I won't hate you, but Coach Shen might. And that's not a very nice thing to say."

Hinata nodded. "Well, that's not what I was going to tell you. But what if I said Takito has a huge crush on you?"

"That's not true." Kageyama replied.

He smiled. "Correct. Totally not true. What if I told you I had a huge crush on you?"

"I-" The rest of the sentence got stuck somewhere between Kageyama's brain and mouth. "I... wouldn't hate you?"

"Good! Because that's exactly what I was going to tell you." Hinata plastered another forced grin onto his face, blushing.

Kageyama sighed. "Alright..."

Hinata gasped and buried his face into Kageyama's chest. "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" His voice was muffled.

Kageyama didn't move. "Why would you be sorry?"

Hinata looked up from sobbing into Kageyama's shirt. "Because?" He answered, eyes wet from crying.

"Oh god, don't cry about it." Kageyama looked at the giant tear-stain on his volleyball shirt.

"But... I'm sorry!" Hinata sniffled.

Kageyama sighed. "I'm asking a question. Why the heck would you be sorry for something like that? There are probably at least fifty girls that would want to marry me in the prefecture. And even though that bothers me... It's not like-"

"But... but those are girls!" Hinata wailed.

Kageyama shrugged. "So? Whatever!" Then he realized this probably wasn't helping, and that more things were going to get wet with tears.

Hinata stomped his feet on the ground. "But don't you hate me?!"

There. The perfect opportunity.

"Ah... well... Hinata. Look at me. Listen."

Hinata looked up at Kageyama, twitching his wings nervously.

"What I was really going to tell you... was something like what you just told me... I-"

"You... you like me?" Hinata frowned.

Kageyama wrinkled his nose apprehensively. "Um... yeah..."

There was an awkward silence. They stared at each other, unsure. Anything could snap the tight tension the air held right now. Something cracked inside Kageyama, and emotions he never knew existed took over him.

Hinata took off, running around the barren yard. He was screaming.

"Hinata-" Kageyama looked at the younger boy, who was now trying to climb up a tree. He had managed to get two hands on one of the higher branches and was kicking his legs around frantically, narrowly missing Kageyama's face.

Hinata continued screaming, scrambling higher into the barren branches.

"Why are you screaming?" Kageyama asked, even though he too, felt like screaming.

"I AM NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN!" Hinata shrieked.

Kageyama crossed his arms. "Well, you won't have to."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hinata looked down on Kageyama from above, perching on a thick branch.

"No idea." Kageyama shrugged, heart still pounding at an alarmingly fast pace.

Hinata shook out his wings. "Alright. Care to join me?"

"In... the tree?" He frowned.

"Why not?," Hinata sat down on a thicker branch, swinging his legs back and forth. "Can you not climb trees, or something?"

Kageyama crossed his arms. "Of course I can climb trees!"

"Well then, what are you waiting for?" Hinata gestured to the branches around him.

He sighed, tucked his wings in, and grabbed the nearest branch. Kageyama hoisted himself onto the same branch Hinata was on, and sat down as gracefully as possible.

"There. See? I can climb trees!"

Hinata looked at Kageyama, with his golden-brown eyes. "I didn't say you couldn't. I just wanted you to be sitting next to me..."

"If you say so." Kageyama ruffled his feathers out, settling in his seat.

Hinata smiled and tilted his head, maybe just leaning on Kageyama's shoulder. Just like the day at the tech shop. Kageyama remembered this too, and spread one of his wings, bringing it around Hinata.

"So..." Hinata murmured. "Are we like, a thing now?"

Kageyama sat up straighter, bringing his wing back. "What do you mean, 'a thing'?"

Hinata shrugged. "I don't really know. Am I pushing things for you?"

"No... not really. But can we not, like, be a thing?" He asked.

"Alright," Hinata confirmed. "Kageyama and Hinata are not a thing!"

Kageyama poked Hinata. "You don't need to make it sound so official..."

Hinata poked him back, and leapt out of the tree, landing on the ground softly.

"We should go home."

Kageyama slid off the branch and joined him on the ground. "Good idea. You feel like flying?"

Hinata squinted at the setting sun. "We'll have to fly towards the sun. What if I damage my eyes?"

Kageyama sighed. "You won't. But I do have sunglasses if you're that concerned..." He grabbed a pair of black glasses out of his bag, and handed them to the younger boy.

"Wow, Kageyama," Hinata slid them onto his face. "These are so like, prankster gangster. Can I call you Swageyama?"

"No." He shook his head. Kageyama spread his wings wide and leapt into the sky. Hinata tried his best to keep up with the second-year's powerful wingbeats.

"Kageyama, wait!" Hinata flapped his wings frantically, and Kageyama turned around, illuminated by the halo of light and setting sun behind him.

The younger boy finally caught up, and Kageyama took flight again. They soared together towards the sun. The fiery ball of light was slowly slipping below the horizon.

"I take it back." Kageyama said suddenly.

"What?" Hinata looked up from the racing ground beneath him. He had taken the Swageyama glasses off, and clutched them in his hand. "Take what back?"

"My words... Can we actually be 'a thing'?" He asked, cautiously.

Hinata blushed. "Sure. We're a thing, now."

They glided over the park, no doubt recalling the events that took place there. Those memories seemed so unimportant, so faded, right now. They were just another thing of the past.

Hinata dipped down towards his house. He was home in one piece. Kageyama followed. They touched down to the ground, inches apart. Hinata slipped the glasses back into Kageyama's bag.

Hinata stepped back, but not before hugging Kageyama. Kageyama had to look away, fluttering his wings.

"Tell me, Hinata..." Kageyama murmured. He placed a hand on top of Hinata's head.

Hinata looked up. "Yeah?"

"Tell me what you just did to me."

"It's called a hug." Hinata explained, holding back a laugh.

Kageyama nodded. "Alright. I should get home. See you later, Hinata."

Hinata smiled. "See you later, Kageyama." Kageyama soared into the sky, and he looked up until he couldn't see the older boy anymore. Then, Hinata stepped in through the door, welcoming the scent of laundry and meat buns.

"Hinata!" Natsu came running down the hallway, wings bouncing up and down. "Where were you?"

"At school...?" He answered, unsure. Hinata set his bag down on the floor.

Natsu sat down. "Were you playing with Kageyama-kun?"

"Kind of...?"

She grinned. "Oooh okay... you were nice to him, right? You didn't steal his toys? You took turns on the swings? Mommy always says to share!"

"We weren't at the park, Natsu... But I was nice..."

"Aw, Kageyama has such a good boyfriend!" Natsu giggled.

Hinata glared at his younger sister. "He's not my- um..."

 _Based on the recent turn of events, was it still within reason to say that?_

Luckily, Natsu's short attention span saved him. She changed the topic.

"The Special is airing on TV right now. It's the pre-Nationals interviews. Do you think Yama-kun is gonna get interviewed?"

Hinata bounded over to the couch, turning the set on. It was already switched to the correct channel, probably because that was the only thing Hinata ever watched on TV.

The Nationals logo was displayed on the screen, two interlocking V shapes flanked by four impossibly large wings. The scene switched to the Arena, which was busy with preparations for the competition tomorrow. A reporter in a red dress was standing on the announcer's platform, interviewing a brown-haired boy who looked just a bit older than Hinata. He had beautiful hawk wings.

The name at the bottom of the screen read: Oikawa Toru. Hinata almost fell off the couch.

"Oikawa-san?"

Natsu glanced up at him, holding the brochure from last year's competition. "I have his stats. Wanna see?"

Hinata grabbed the papers from last year, turning to the page with the hawk-winged boy.

"He goes to Aoba Johsai..." He murmured. "Isn't that like, a really good school?"

Natsu nodded. "Yep."

"Holy crap! His wingspan is larger than Kageyama's! And he's won a lot of awards... he's tall, too."

"He kind looks trashy, in my opinion." Natsu stuck her tongue out at the screen.

Hinata laughed. "Don't say that!" He returned his gaze to the television.

Oikawa-san was getting interviewed by the lady in the red dress, who, in Hinata's opinion, looked quite thrilled to be interviewing the nationals competitor.

"So, Oikawa-san, what's your outlook on the Nationals this year?"

Oikawa smiled, and Natsu shrieked. "There it is! Trashy smile!"

"Honestly," Oikawa thought, and Hinata was drawn in. That boy had some type of gravity that brought everyone in. Kageyama was the opposite. "I think everyone is going to do really well. These days, there are a lot of prodigious younger competitors, so I'm excited for how that's going to go."

The lady nodded. "Who's someone prodigious that you have an eye on this year?"

"Oh, probably Tobio-chan. The guy from Karasuno?" Oikawa answered effortlessly.

 _Tobio-chan? Kageyama? And wow, he's so at ease with the interviewers!_

The interviewer frowned. "And why might you say that?"

"Tobio-chan is what some call a prodigy. He has a lot of natural talent. But I don't think talent and prodigy will stand in my way."

At that moment, Hinata really felt like slapping TrashyKawa.

Red Dress lady nodded. "Any final remarks for your fans before we end this interview?"

"Ah, well, just one thing. If you're going to hit something, hit it until it breaks. I told Iwa-chan that yesterday."

 _Iwa-chan?_

The television scene switched to the stands outside the stadium, showing off longs lines to buy tickets, but the overall demeanor of the show had changed for Hinata.

Natsu turned to Hinata. "Trashy-san seemed pretty excited about winning, right?"

Hinata remained silent, shaken by Oikawa's annoying confidence.

 _How is Kageyama supposed to win against someone like that? He's too calm! He's too confident! He's everything!_

"You better be careful, Kageyama-kun..." Hinata murmured under his breath.

Natsu stretched her wings and turned back to the television, watching an animation about how the stadium was built.

"First, the outer layer of seats was constructed, leading to the second layer, which is made up of a special material designed to..."

It seemed pretty boring to Hinata. He flipped open the brochure again, looking at all the featured Nationals competitors. He recognized a lot of prestigious ones, like Kuroo Tetsurou, one of the best solo performers, or Bokuto Kotaru and Akaashi Keji, the leading Duo group in the country. They were famed for both having owl's wings, something pretty rare.

He turned to the page with Kageyama, which amazingly, was a two-page spread. Hinata gasped. A lengthy list of stats and facts ran down the right side, and a list of awards was printed on the left. There was even a blueprint diagram of his first pair of braces. Not the modded ones for this year. Those were a surprise.

Well, most things were a surprise this year. Kageyama was working on all these new moves, changing and evolving his tactics. No one knew for sure how this year's competition was going to go.

But Hinata knew one thing for sure, something Kageyama didn't know.

Hinata had a surprise for the Nationals, too.


	9. Chapter 9 - Let the Games Begin

Kageyama stepped out of the car and into the back room of the Nationals stadium. He made it all the way down the breezeway, almost to his room's door, before Takito caught him.

She was wearing a white blouse with a sharp blazer and a black skirt, and black heels. Her hair was down, actually brushed and gently curled. She looked quite professional with light makeup and a stern gaze. Takito also had a badge with her name that proclaimed she was an official modifier and assistant for Kageyama.

"Hey! Tobio! What's up?" She planted her hands on her hips, grinning at him. Her wings ruffled in the slight wind of the open hallway.

Apparently, she wasn't professional.

He whipped around. "I wanted to see my competition room!"

"Well, it's not ready yet," Takito warned. "So there might be… surprises inside. You can still go in, though."

Each competitor would get their own small room before the competition to practice in private, stretch, or just relax. Kageyama's was room 2-K, located in the Junior Class section. There was a special area for Karasuno, too. Mei's room was next door.

Kageyama pushed the sliding door open to reveal a small room just a bit bigger than his bedroom at home, with a sink, a couch, and a mat for stretching. There was also a table with some papers and his braces. His costume hung near the window that looked out into the forest behind the stadium.

"You said it wasn't ready, Takito!" He ran over to pick up his costume, flaring his wings out happily at the sight of the black fabric.

Takito stepped inside after him, gazing around. "I just wanted to check it out without you ruining the room first."

"Ruin it?" Kageyama looked up from dumping equipment out of a box. It scattered all over the floor and knocked over his water bottle. "What do you mean?"

Takito sighed. She helped him put the equipment on the shelves. "You know exactly what I mean."

Kageyama sank down onto the couch. He picked up the papers. They were his competition papers, with the program, this year's special brochure, and other legal stuff that looked official.

"You have to fill this one out, Takito." He passed her the assistant's form.

Takito skimmed through the legal text. "Give me a pen." She took one from Kageyama in her left hand.

"Now, can I write with my left hand?" She tried to write her name as neatly as possible, testing first with a scrap of paper.

It didn't turn out very well. "Nope. I can't."

"I can write it for you," Kageyama offered. "But you still have to sign it."

Takito pulled a rubber stamp out of her pocket. "No, I have to stamp it. This is my modifier stamp. It's pretty important. It's like my identity, and if I lose it, you can't compete. So don't annoy me, or I'll throw this away."

Kageyama nodded, taking the pen from her. Takito shook out her wings, stood up, and walked over to the window. She gazed out it wistfully.

"I'm nervous," She muttered, running her fingers along her cast.

Kageyama curled his wings around him. "Same here."

"Well," Takito walked over to him, heels making sharp clicks on the wooden floor. "We can be nervous together. Also, I can't walk in heels. They hurt my feet." She slid them off and tossed them to the side of the room in disgust.

"But what do you have to be nervous about?" Kageyama asked, turning around.

Takito twitched her wings irritably. "The press."

"What? Please explain..." Kageyama sighed, wings drooping at the thought of this competition on National Television.

"Often, prodigies like you have fans that are completely confident in your abilities to fly. So if you screw up, or get disqualified..."

"...They blame you." Kageyama finished, realizing suddenly that Takito really had a lot to be nervous about. Maybe more than him.

"Yeah. See what I mean? If I get blamed, my reputation could be ruined. Forever." Takito swallowed hard. She didn't like that risk.

"Well," Kageyama shrugged. "Your reputation is pretty good right now."

Takito ruffled her wings, taking a seat next to Kageyama. "This is the first year I'm an assistant. I'll need to come into the arena with you."

"You know, you're the youngest assistant in this competition. The youngest assistant, ever!" Kageyama pointed out.

"Oh no," Takito groaned. "I hate being the youngest!"

"Well, my birthday is in December, so I'm usually the youngest. I'm the youngest doing Dives, that's for sure."

"What do assistants do, anyway? And why isn't coach Shen your assistant? He was yours last year." Takito said, pulling at the hem of her skirt.

"Read the official manual for assistants," Kageyama answered. "And coaches can't be assistants. They're registered as coaches."

"But he was your assistant last year," Takito replied.

Kageyama's wings perked up angrily. "I had a different coach, remember?"

"Oh," Takito whispered softly. She knew that Kageyama didn't like to hear about his old coach. And the abuse he went through was a taboo topic for him, too. She glanced at him, seeing if his emotions would show through. The only thing Takito could see was anger flashing in his dark eyes.

Takito reached across the table for the manual and flipped through it.

"You're allowed to have two assistants?" She asked, curious.

Kageyama nodded. "Yeah. One is usually a technician and the other is moral support or coaching. You're both."

"It's not moral support if I'm a nervous train wreck." Takito ran her hands through her black hair, letting the curls fall into her face.

Kageyama glanced at the clock. It was only seven in the morning, but competitors were supposed to arrive early for attendance and preparation for the opening ceremony. They were supposed to arrive at eight, but Kageyama was too nervous to lie awake any longer.

Takito was here so she could make sure her father was okay setting up the rest of the tuning booth on his own, but that resolved quickly so she had wandered around to get her nerves off.

"I don't need moral support," Kageyama reassured.

Takito stood up, turning to face him. "Well, we'll just support each other. I'm going to be up on that platform with you, you know." She threw the book down onto the table.

Kageyama could see the pain in her eyes.

I've placed way too much on her. And not just today.

Kageyama remembered all the times he would come into the tech shop to have his braces tuned and he would complain about all the things that had to happen to him that day. Takito would listen patiently, nodding politely. She waited until he would shut up, but nothing would make him be quiet until he was finished, or Takito noticed what he was trying to hide with his words.

Once, when Kageyama was a first year at Karasuno and Takito was still in junior high, he had pointed out that Takito was really good at sensing emotions. She laughed and said it was because she knew what others were thinking.

But maybe she did have secret powers because one day she pulled him away from his coach and asked if he was okay. It was a random question, but somehow it seemed like Takito had seen right through his lies and really knew what his coach was doing to him.

And every time Takito asked about a bruise or cut, or some other injury, she asked like she already knew.

You can hide your scars, Takito would say. But you can't hide the pain in your eyes.

She was the first to know about how abusive his first coach was, and she was the one who had gone to his parents to demand a new coach. A year younger than him, but probably years wiser. And Takito swore that she would come to Karasuno to make sure he wasn't being hurt, even though she could have gotten into a better school.

"Is Shou-chan coming?" Takito asked, pulling Kageyama back to the present.

Kageyama jumped off the couch and shook out his wings. "Hinata should be coming soon. I told him to come a little early so I could show him around."

There was a knock at the door. "That's probably him."

"I'll get it!" Takito bounded over to the door but he shoved her out of the way and Takito stumbled aside.

"No, I'll get it." Kageyama pulled the door open, suddenly conscious of his wrinkled practice clothes. Hinata stood in the doorway, holding a gift bag and looking meek and small in the large hallway.

"Oh, hey Hinata. Come on in?"

"Am I allowed to?" Hinata asked, unsure. He was in awe of being in the competitor's area of the stadium.

Takito nodded, sliding into Hinata's line of vision. "Of course you are! What's in the bag?"

"Flowers!" Hinata grinned, stepping inside. He glanced around the room in awe. "Do you guys get this room all to yourselves?"

Takito shook her head. "It's not my room. It's Kageyama's. I usually have to stay in the assistant's office. It's terrible. But I've been able to sneak around." She shrugged.

"You can put the flowers in this vase." Kageyama held up a glass he found on the table, filled with water.

Takito snorted. "That's a water glass, idiot."

"You're an idiot." Kageyama retorted.

"At least I can tell the difference between a water glass and a flower vase!"

Hinata stepped in between them, fluttering his wings in excitement. "You don't need a flower vase. It's just one flower, for Kageyama."

Did he get me a flower?

Hinata set the bag down on the table and pulled out a breakfast sandwich, then a yellow rose, orange at the edges of the petals.

"Here you go." Hinata handed the rose to Kageyama, who took it gently.

Takito crossed her arms. "Yellow roses symbolize friendship, and that orange at the tip expresses... development in a friendship. Is there something I don't know?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You don't ask questions you don't know the answer to." Hinata pointed out.

Takito grinned. "Exactly. When did this happen?"

"Do you need to know?" Kageyama muttered, embarrassed.

She snapped her fingers, making Hinata choke on his breakfast sandwich. "I don't ask questions I don't know the answer to."

"See?" Hinata managed after recovering from choking. "She's annoying!"

"Well, congratulations on your marriage!" Takito laughed and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

Kageyama flared his wings wide. "As my assistant, you're supposed to be nice!"

"Assistant?" Hinata asked.

Takito ignored the question and handed the manual to Hinata, who flipped through it excitedly. The brochures from earlier fell out and Takito picked them up.

"Well, well, well, look who made the front page." She held up the brochure to show the boys one of the best competitors.

Kageyama frowned. "Ushijima Wakatoshi."

"Woah, Ushijima?" Hinata gasped. "He's really good."

Hinata began to list facts and statistics about Ushijima.

"He's six feet and two inches, his birthday is August 13th, he's left-handed, has a wingspan of 10 feet and 2.67 inches, swan's wings, and has been training since he was really young."

Takito nodded, impressed. "But he doesn't do Dives."

"Well." Kageyama exhaled loudly.

"Did you know?" Hinata flipped through the rest of the booklet. "He's on Japan's National team for international competitions!"

Takito's jaw dropped. "Wow, this Wakatoshi guy really has it going for him."

Kageyama looked at the brochure advertising the swan-winged competitor. "He does go to Shiratorizawa. that's a powerhouse school, and they're usually top of the prefecture. I wanted to go to Shiratorizawa, but I failed the entrance exam."

Hinata pointed to a fact box on the front. "He came second last year due to an injury."

"I'd be dead if I had an injury," Kageyama commented.

Hinata opened up the brochure to the page with Kageyama on it. "Hey look, it's you!"

Takito peered at the picture of Kageyama. "Two page spread, not too bad. Hey, my name is on there."

"See page 17 for a blueprint of Tobio Kageyama's braces..." Hinata read.

"Well, let's see," Kageyama muttered. flipping back to page seventeen.

Another two-page spread proudly displayed Kageyama's modified braces and a brief history of Takito's career in modifying.

"Oh, I'm flattered," Takito sighed happily. "They even spelled my name right."

Hinata turned back to Kageyama's page, looking at his statistics. "I have to memorize these." He flapped his wings excitedly.

"It's seven-thirty," Takito announced, putting her shoes back on. "I should go check on Yamaguchi and Mei, then see my father. I'll leave you guys to do your things."

She slipped out the door, winking at Kageyama on the way out.

Kageyama glared at her and turned to Hinata. "Are you excited about the Nationals?"

"Of course, I am." Hinata nodded. "This is my first year seeing the competitions in person."

He picked up the programs for the Nationals. "It's only Juniors and U20's today."

Kageyama nodded. "There are so many events they have to do it in three days, and then the awards and closing ceremony."

"Wow... Can I keep these?" Hinata held up the stack of papers.

Kageyama sorted through them and put aside the competitor's forms. "You can keep the merchandise, not my forms. I still to fill them out, and I think Takito took her mod forms."

Hinata peeked at the forms. "Wow, these look fancy."

There was another knock at the door, and Kageyama shouted, "Come in!"

It was Mei-Lee, fanning herself and looking slightly flustered in a fancy red dress, not her costume. Her wings fluttered nervously as she stepped inside.

"Oh, Kageyama, I think I'm going to faint." She sat on the couch, breathing hard.

Hinata moved so Mei could lie down. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Mei sighed, flopping onto the couch. "Not really."

"What's the dress for?" Kageyama asked.

Mei-Lee ran her fingers down the silk of the red dress. "You'll see in a minute."

Hinata handed Mei the glass of water. "Do you need water?"

She sat up and took the glass. "Yes, thanks." Mei downed it in one gulp, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"So, what happened?"

"They asked me... The Nationals officials asked me... if I could sing the anthem at the opening ceremony!" Mei started fanning herself again.

"Wow. What about the official singer? I thought they would do it!" Kageyama asked.

Mei sighed. "Their official singer is sick. They asked me. Because I can sing..." The sarcasm in her voice cut deep.

"But you can sing!" Hinata protested.

It was true that Mei-Lee excelled at singing. Her mother put her in voice lessons as a young child and she continued studying classical music. She could play three instruments, including her own voice.

"Not enough to sing on national TV, with all of Japan watching, and then compete!" Mei-Lee screeched, sounding just a bit hysteric.

Kageyama had no idea how to deal with hysteric girls. Usually, he would inch away slowly then run home to restore his sanity. But he couldn't really do that.

"Do you want me to get Takito for you...?" Hinata offered.

Mei-Lee turned to Hinata. "Yes, please, and thank you!" She collapsed on the couch again, laughing hysterically.

Hinata ran out the door to find Takito.

"They picked me..." She gasped in between fits of laughter. "They picked me... They picked... me! Why me...?"

Kageyama sat stiffly on the couch, trying to ignore Mei-Lee. The door slid open and Takito ran in.

"Oh my god, what the hell is going on?" Takito looked at Kageyama, then Mei-Lee, then Hinata, and finally, at Yamaguchi, who stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do.

Takito beckoned Yamaguchi inside and told him to sit down. He inched his way inside and knelt beside his sister, wings rippling with worry.

"Are you okay?" Takito asked Mei.

"You don't... ask questions... you don't know the answer to..." Mei-Lee managed.

Takito groaned. "I know that! You're not okay!"

"No... I'm really not... really not okay..." Mei-Lee sat up.

"Hold still," Takito ordered, shooing Yamaguchi out of the way and telling everyone to move.

Mei-Lee blinked. "Okay...?"

Takito raised her hand and slapped Mei-Lee in the face. Hard.

"Snap out of it!" She shrieked, wings snapping open angrily.

Everyone gasped, shocked Takito dared to hit a second year, let alone a Nationals Competitor.

"Takito-" Yamaguchi grabbed her hand.

"Oi, do you want me to slap you, too? Shut up!" Takito growled, shaking free of Yamaguchi's grip.

Mei sat on the couch in shock. Takito nodded like everything was working out perfectly fine.

"Alright..." Takito raised her hand again and snapped her fingers in front of Mei's face.

Mei-Lee shook her head. "My face hurts."

"That's because-" Hinata began before being silenced with a death glare from Takito.

"Do you feel okay?" Takito asked

Mei-Lee smiled. "You never ask questions you don't know the answer to."

"Okay, you're fine."

"I'm sorry-" Mei-Lee began, trying to apologize for her fit of hysteria.

Takito shrugged. "You're fine. Anyways, you don't have my problems."

"What are your problems?" Mei-Lee asked, back to normal.

Takito sighed. "Eh, nothing much. Just the opening speech for the Nationals."

Everyone gasped again.

"Let me guess, the spokesperson was sick." Mei-Lee laughed, but normally this time. Yamaguchi sighed with relief in the fact that his sister wasn't insane. His wings drooped comfortably.

Takito shook her head, curled hair bouncing back and forth. "No, I'm the spokesperson. I don't know why. I think it's for the publicity, having their youngest assistant speak at the ceremonies."

"Well, I guess you'll be up onstage with me, Takito." Mei grinned.

Takito nodded, satisfied everyone knew their places. "Okay, you should head back to your room and get ready for the ceremony. I need to go to the assistant's meeting, and Kageyama, you need to get ready for the ceremony, too. There is a Karasuno meeting with the team at eight-fifteen, so be ready." She got up from the couch and marched out the door.

Yamaguchi helped his sister up from the couch, shot an apologetic glance at Hinata and Kageyama, waved goodbye, and left.

"Well, that was quite something." Kageyama let out a long breath.

Hinata nodded. "I hope Mei's okay."

"She got slapped by Takito."

"I was expecting that," Hinata muttered.

Kageyama frowned. "She hit a competitor."

"Yeah, I hope none of them report it. Takito could get fined for an ethical violation," Hinata muttered, beginning to understand the severity of what could happen.

Kageyama shrugged. "I don't think any of us would, though. She fixed Mei-Lee."

"That's true."

They sat there in awkward silence. Kageyama cleared his throat, standing up to look out the window.

"It's a nice day outside." He muttered. "Cold and clear."

Hinata joined him by the window. "Yeah, it is."

Kageyama nodded. "This reminds me what I train for."

"Don't you have a bunch of surprises for the judges this year?"

"Yes," He turned to face Hinata, who looked up at him with curiosity. "Lots of surprises."

"Like what?" Hinata turned his head to one side.

Kageyama fluttered his wings. "Like this."

He closed his eyes, bent down, and quickly kissed Hinata.

Hinata blinked in surprise. "What was that?"

"What do you think it was?"

"A... kiss...?" Hinata said slowly, blushing furiously.

Kageyama nodded, also blushing.

Now I've really done it, He thought. I'm prepared to die.

"Do it again," Hinata whispered. "I missed it."

"Are you sure?"

Hinata nodded, wings flapping with anticipation. "Yeah, do it again!" He reached up and put his hands on Kageyama's shoulders, standing on tiptoe to reach Kageyama.

For a second, Kageyama's brain failed to work. He could see the error message right now.

has stopped working. Please try again later.

has crashed. Please try again later.

But Hinata's presence seemed to reboot both of those so he leaned down slowly, eyes closed. He could feel Hinata's breath on his face, warm.

Kageyama took a mental deep breath and told himself to just do it already.

But Hinata beat him to it, throwing his arms around Kageyama's neck and causing Kageyama to clutch Hinata's waist suddenly.

"We need to try that again..." Hinata muttered, blushing.

Kageyama nodded in agreement; he could say nothing more.

"Are you going to do it? Or am I?" Kageyama asked.

"I'll do it!" Hinata proclaimed boldly.

Kageyama closed his eyes again waited. Until he heard Hinata jumping up and down.

"You're too tall..." Hinata muttered.

Kageyama leaned down for what felt like the hundredth time. His heart pounded harder than even when he was competing.

The world seemed to hold its breath as they met, hesitantly at first, but that vanished and they both relaxed a little.

Hinata broke away, blushing a bright shade of pink. Kageyama smiled down at him and Hinata grinned back.

"That was a nice surprise," Hinata whispered.

Kageyama nodded. "I knew you would like it."

"I didn't like it..." Hinata said.

Kageyama gasped and all the doubt, the fear, he had felt before came rushing back at him, until Hinata opened his mouth to speak again.

"I loved it."


	10. Chapter 10 - The Nationals

Takito and Mei-Lee stood next to each other in the official's room, willing the doors to stay closed. If those doors opened, they would have to follow the stupid instructions given.

"Walk slowly but with a purpose to the center platform and stand in your designated spot." One of the officials had told them, but Takito and Mei were too nervous to comprehend anything.

Mei was supposed to be in the competitor's area but since she was singing too, it had been decided the anthem would be sung first and then return to the competitor's area.

Kageyama was in one of the passageways that led into the stadium and it was Takito's job to announce each competitor who would be competing today. It all seemed like a chance to show off, anyways.

"How am I supposed to fly my introductory lap?" Mei asked, shaking her wings out.

Takito shrugged, stretching. She clutched a black microphone that was to be used to make her speech. "They'll send you off the platform to where Tobio is, I guess."

Mei wrung her hands out, fretting again. "I am going to die."

"You're not going to die," Takito sighed, checking the program again. "I'm not letting you die."

"I am going to die," Mei repeated, very sure she was on the verge of death.

Takito shrugged. "Did you write a will?"

"Nope," She responded dejectedly. "Never planned to."

"I knew it. You should, though." Takito responded, glancing around at all the other officials in the room. They didn't look like they were going to die. But they were older. Takito was the youngest in the room, Mei was the second-youngest.

"Something tells me I'm not supposed to be here," Mei said.

Takito frowned. "That something is wrong. I checked the itinerary table."

They turned their gaze back towards the door. Takito could hear the muffled buzz of the audience, awaiting the opening ceremony. She smoothed down her skirt with sweaty hands.

"Yeah, maybe we're going to die." She muttered, now feeling the weight being placed on her.

I'm speaking the official first words in this arena! And Mei is singing the first official anthem...

Takito shook her wings out, watching Mei ruffle her wings out and sweep her red-streaked hair behind her ear.

An official muttered something to another man and pointed at the clock. It was time. Takito felt a shiver run down her back.

The doors swung open to expose them to blinding lights and a roaring crowd. The older men marched ahead of them regally and... with purpose, wings flaring out behind them.

Takito glanced at Mei, nodded, and stepped out onto the platform, suspended above the audience. Mei followed; everyone was now walking in pairs of two.

The line stopped suddenly and Mei almost ran into a man in a blue suit. They sat down in comfortable chairs that were lined up in front of a raised circular platform. Takito observed they sat in speaking order, as the judges sat last and Mei was first.

She glanced downwards and saw the competitors crowding in the passageway into the arena. Surveying the huge crowd above and below them, Takito spotted Hinata and his friends. They waved to her and cheered.

Mei slid her wings down the wing rests on the side of the chair and Takito did the same, trying to relax. She watched the other officials, trying to see what they did. They sat ruler-straight in their chairs. The only aspect that showed the were at ease were their wings, resting on the sides of the chairs.

Takito sat up straighter, trying to look professional. Behind them, above the platform, was a huge screen that currently displayed the Nationals Logo and the time, which was currently 9:04. The ceremony would start at 9:05. Everything was on a strict schedule and very organized. It moved like clockwork. She balanced the microphone on her knees, staring at the ground below her and wishing it would swallow her up.

The clock hit 9:05 and Mei stood up like suddenly. She strode over to the circular platform and pressed her lips together, waiting for the music to cue her in.

The first few notes of the anthem began to play and Mei stood up a little straighter. She dropped her hands to her sides and flared her wings wide, exposing the red feathers.

On the screen, the cameras focused on her face, giving a full panorama of Mei's surroundings.

Mei sings the first verse as a solo then invites everyone else to sing... Takito remembered. She can do this.

Mei opened her mouth and the first few, breathy notes of the aria slipped out, clear and glassy.

Takito exhaled in relief. Once Mei-Lee started singing, she would be fine.

The rest of the verse soared over the stadium, naturally amplified by the curves and passages of the arena. Mei bent her wings skywards and threw her hands up in the air, inviting the audience to join in with her.

The crowd stood at once, and the row of officials, including Takito, stood with them. She knew the words by heart, having sung this song many times. They joined her in song, finishing with a glorious crescendo. Mei even dared to hit the high notes, something that was notoriously difficult to do but sounded great if you did it properly, which of course she could do.

Takito sat down in her seat, feeling the stadium shake with thunderous applause. Mei bounded back to her seat next to Takito, feeling relived. She let out a sigh that was barely heard amidst the roar of the crowd.

"I did it," Mei whispered.

Takito nodded, standing up and grabbing the microphone to make her speech. "You did great."

"You'll do great, too," Mei promised. "I know you will."

Takito shook her wings out, took a deep breath, and made her way up onto the platform. She could feel everyone's eyes on her as she ascended the steps to make her way to the center.

Her presence alone managed to silence the audience. She swept her gaze around the stadium, drawing eyes towards her. Takito flapped her wings out and gripped the microphone a little tighter.

I hope the microphone works.

She opened her mouth to speak, recalling the lines she practiced earlier. Takito noticed Mei was gone

"Good morning, everyone, and for those of you who don't live here, welcome! This is our one-hundred and second annual Nationals competition and the fifth time with Miyagi as our host prefecture."

Takito stopped, pausing to let her words sink in. She then listed a bunch of sponsors for the event, something she had to do for customary purposes.

"So without further ado, here are this year's competitors. First up, Junior class!"

The crowd roared as the Juniors shot out from the passageway, rising up to fly an introductory lap around the arena. As each competitor flew by, Takito announced their name, along with their National's-name.

"First, from Shiratorizawa Academy, Ushijima Wakatoshi, Cygnus!"

The crowd cheered as Ushijima flew by, chanting his name.

"Ushijima! Ushijima! Ushijima!"

Ushijima sped by the platform and dove back down, another competitor flying by.

"From Nohebi Academy, Suguru Daishou, Serpent!"

Suguru flashed by, flaring his emerald green wings.

"From Seijoh, Oikawa Toru, the Great King!" Takito announced, watching Oikawa fly by, spreading his hawk wings and dipping back down into a dive, waving to the audience. The crowd went absolutely wild for Oikawa, screaming his name.

"Also from Seijoh, Kindaichi Yutarō, Dark Arrow!" Takito called out the name of a competitor she didn't know.

She gazed down at the ring of competitors. "Next, representing Fukurodani, Bokuto Kotarou, the Shining One!"

The boy flew by silently with his snowy owl's wings, but the crowd loved it. They cheered and chanted for him, and Bokuto loved it, too. Instead of diving, he swooped upwards and yelled.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He called, before diving back down. The audience cheered again.

"From Nekoma, Kuroo Tetsurou, Iron Heart!" Kuroo soared by, his trademark messy black hair swept up by the wind.

The crowd roared for Kuroo, chanting his name.

"Tetsurou! Tetsurou! Tetsurou!"

He laughed and dove back down, waving to the audience as he flew.

Takito spotted Mei and couldn't help but smile as she flew by in her sparkling red costume.

"From Karasuno, Mei-Lee Yamaguchi, Blazing Thunder!"

The loudest cheers came from Hinata and Yamaguchi, whose voices could be heard well above the roar of the crowd.

"Representing Fukurodani, Akaashi Keji, Guardian of the Storm!"

A serene-looking black haired boy swooped up to the platform with a determined face and dove back down quickly, the sparkles on his gold and black costume flashing, but the crowd squealed and screamed for Akaashi.

"And the one you've all been waiting for..." Takito flicked her wings in excitement. "From Karasuno... TOBIO KAGEYAMA, BLACK LIGHTNING!"

There was a tremendous roar from the crowd, everyone enthralled by Kageyama, the young raven prodigy.

He flashed by in a streak of black, pausing in front of the platform long enough for Takito to see his dark blue eyes, lined with black. Takito nodded in approval and he dove back downwards, the competitors disappearing back into the passage.

"And those were our junior solo competitors!" She gestured to them below and the crowd cheered again.

Takito took a step towards on the platform. "And now, here's this year's National competitor's group teams!"

"Nekoma!"

A team dressed all in red and led by Kuroo sped by in tight formation, rising up into the sky and plummeting back down. They summoned quite a cheer from the people from Tokyo.

"Next, Fukurodani!"

Fukurodani shot high into the sky, pulling off a fancy formation and flared their wings wide, Bokuto holding Akaashi in a tricky pose before they swooped back down to the ground.

"Shiratorizawa Academy!"

Ushijima leads a fast charge around the arena, flying a lap above the audience's heads. Takito spotted Tendou Satori and Semi Eita, two famous fliers from the Academy. Semi was rumored to have a DragonWing for a father, and Tendou was the only one in all of Japan to have scarlet macaw wings.

"Aoba Johsai, Seijoh High!"

Oikawa shot out of the passageway with his teammates following close behind. They trailed hight into the sky before branching out in different directions and regrouping with Oikawa and a dark-haired boy with olive eyes and a grey costume in the center.

"Last but not the least, Karasuno High!"

Kageyama swooped high into the sky with Mei-Lee and a few other students behind him, going through a formation sequence and taking a few poses from their routine into their introductory lap.

Mei's hair streaked out behind her as Karasuno flew in a circle and spiraled downwards to the ground, prompting a huge roar from the crowd.

Takito introduced the rest of the classes, the U20s, and the Masters. She recognized a lot of famous competitors and felt extremely prided to get to introduce them.

After the lengthy introduction, the competitors stood on the diving platforms to take their oath. Takito got to lead it.

"Competitors, repeat after me. I promise to uphold the values of competition."

"I promise to uphold the values of competition." Numerous voices echoed.

"For the spirit of the games and for the value of my pride." Takito's voice rung throughout the stadium.

"For the spirit of the games and for the value of my pride." They repeated.

"I promise to compete fairly and protect these values, even at the cost of my life." That part was a bit morbid, Takito had to admit.

"I promise to compete fairly and protect these values, even at the cost of my life."

"For flight forevermore, I promise." Takito finished, hearing the competitors echo her promise.

The crowd remained silent as she passed the microphone off to another official, who would run the oath of office.

Takito returned to her seat and remained standing to say her oath as an official. Her heart was pounding from all the adrenaline and nerves.

"Officials, repeat after me," The man boomed. "I promise to uphold the values of competition, and be respectful to competitors at all times, be it my own team or another."

"I promise to uphold the values of competition, and be respectful to competitors at all times, be it my own team or another," Takito repeated, feeling a rush of pride.

"I promise to be fair in my conduct and remain courteous and professional at all times."

"I promise to be fair in my conduct," Takito said. "And remain courteous and professional at all times."

"And I promise to protect the competitors, especially my competitor."

She smiled, thinking of being an assistant to Kageyama. "And I promise to protect the competitors, especially my competitor." Takito flicked her wings thoughtfully.

"Even at the cost of my own life, for flight forevermore, I promise." The official stated.

Takito gulped. "Even at the cost of my own life, for flight forevermore, I promise." She promised, and she meant it.

The officials sank down into their seats and Takito followed, feeling very... well... official.

The judges took their oath and the opening ceremony was over.

"Our first event is Junior class, Group acts. We will resume competitions in half an hour. Let the games begin!"

Takito made her way back down from the platform and into the official's room, where she set the microphone down on the table and left. Since the first event was Junior Group Acts, Kageyama wouldn't be competing.

She made her way down the breezeway, nodding politely to Akaashi and Bokuto as they walked past. She brushed wings with so many competitors, she lost count. It was too much of an honor. Especially when she saw Ushijima and he asked her for directions. That was insane.

Takito knocked on Kageyama's door, but when there was no response, she just entered herself. To her surprise, Kageyama was already inside. He sat on the couch, one wing extended, holding a roll of tape.

"Hey, Black Lightning." She frowned, closing the door behind her.

Kageyama dropped the tape and folded his wings back in. He turned to look at her, startled.

"Oh, hey Takito. Nice job with your speech."

Takito picked up the roll of tape. "This is medical tape. You hurt yourself, didn't you?"

Kageyama shook his head. "I'm fine. I just over-extended my left wing."

"You what?" She shrieked. "What about your braces? Didn't you have braces?"

"I didn't put them on for the opening games. No one else was wearing theirs, anyways!" Kageyama protested.

"But you're hurt! Here, let me help you." She took the roll of tape, unwinding a large strip and tearing it with her teeth.

Kageyama extended his wing and Takito tried her best to use one hand to wrap it around the feathery base and secured it under his costume. "How's that?"

"It's fine." Kageyama flapped his wings a few times. "Yeah, it doesn't hurt as much."

Takito held out his braces. "Put these on before you hurt yourself." She clicked them on for him and tightened a few screws with her screwdriver. It was a struggle to do everything with one hand, but with Kageyama's assistance, it was eventually resolved.

"Are you going to watch Mei preform?" She asked once Kageyama was ready.

Kageyama nodded. The competitors had a special spot to watch the acts, in a different area that had better views.

"Well," Takito announced. "I just stopped by to get my tuning kit. The booth is going to be busy soon. You should stay here and stretch. Warm up. Shen should be here any moment." She grabbed the toolbox and slipped out the door.

Takito walked briskly down the hallway, on her way to the tuning booth. She glared at her cast angrily.

"Hey, Takito!" A voice in front of her made Takito look up.

It was Shen. He folded his wings politely, clutching a map of the arena.

"Hey, Shen," Takito replied, nodding curtly.

"Where's Kageyama?," he asked, "I looked everywhere."

"He's in his room."

"Ah." Shen smiled.

"Oh, and he extended his wing," Takito added. "He's fine. I taped it and tuned his braces so they would support it a bit more."

Shen raised an eyebrow. "Alright. I'll make sure he's okay. Thanks for telling me!" He grinned and jogged off. Takito continued down the hallway.

She almost screamed when she brushed wings with Suguru Daishou, who was on his way to the washroom.

"Hello there." He nodded.

Takito stopped and turned around. "Good morning, Suguru-san."

"Good morning. And who might you be?" He asked, flicking his bangs out of his face.

"Mitaichi Takito. I'm Kageyama Tobio's assistant."

They shook hands, Suguru grinning. "Nice to meet you. I guess you're the one who tunes everyone's braces with your father?"

"That's me." Takito nodded.

Suguru stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'll see you later, then. I look forward to it." He strutted off to the washrooms, leaving Takito kind of awestruck and shaken.

She shook her head and continued down to the brace tuning booth, where Yamaguchi and Hinata sat excitedly, waiting for Takito. As soon as they saw her, they ran over.

"You did great, Takito!" Hinata squealed.

Yamaguchi nodded. "You got the crowd so excited!"

"They were cheering so loud," Hinata explained. "I thought they would bring the stadium down.

Takito took a seat at the tuning booth and flipped the sign to "open". Her father was in the back room, getting supplies. He would be back soon.

She fiddled with the screwdriver and checked the specifications and rules for tuning competitor's braces. The shop had already been quite busy the past few days with competitors.

Takito looked up and saw Kuroo Tetsurou grinning at her and holding his pair of dark red braces.

"Hey, Takito. Still tuning with that wrist?" He asked, setting his braces down on the table and twitching his wings expectantly.

Takito nodded. "I'll try my best."

Kuroo and Takito had met last year at Nationals and they had kept in touch over the summer, now good friends.

"I'll take the usual tune-up," Kuroo stated. "And can you oil them, too?"

"Sure." She inspected the braces, from a brand she didn't know in Hokkaido.

Takito grasped the screwdriver in her left hand and slowly unscrewed the main tension pin. So far, so good. She grabbed the oil dropper and oiled the joints, bending and flexing them to make sure they were okay.

She passed them to Kuroo. "Put these on."

Kuroo clicked them over his wings and turned around, spreading his wings wide so Takito could tune them easily. She stuck the tension pin back in and set it to number 3.

"Do you usually have it on 3?" Takito asked.

Kuroo shook his head. "Four."

Takito switched it to a four and stepped back. "How are these?"

"Great, as usual!"

Takito put all the screws back in place and sent Kuroo on his way.

"Thank you, Takito!" Kuroo waved before heading back to the competitor's area to warm up before his performance.

An announcement over the loudspeakers stated that there were five minutes until the group event started and that competitors competing should be in the competitor's area by now.

Takito made her way to her seat in the stadium since she wasn't helping Kageyama with anything. She sat next to Hinata and Yamaguchi, with Natsu a few seats away from her. Sugawara kept a close eye on Natsu.

"So this is it, huh?" Daichi asked Takito. "What's it like being among all those competitors?"

"I ran into Suguru-san when he was going to the washroom. Well, he was on his way to the washroom." Takito replied.

"Wow..." Suga gasped. "That's cool."

Takito shifted her gaze to the arena. She scanned the glossy floor until it rested on the judge's table.

"Wait a minute," Yamaguchi pointed to one of the judges.

Hinata leaned over to see. "Isn't that..."

"...Kageyama's old coach?" Takito finished.


End file.
